Interprofessional education in palliative care: a pilot project using popular literature

A need to introduce the concepts of death and dying to the medical and health sciences undergraduate curriculum was identified at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. As care of the terminally ill is complex and requires the collaborative involvement of a diverse group of health care professionals, an interprofessional educational approach was utilized to address this need. A seminar course was developed using popular literature as the basis for learning, and offered to first and second year medical students, fourth year nursing students and graduate students in spiritual care. The discussion of roles and the provision of care within the context of works of selected literature provided a focus that enabled the students to transcend their disciplinary barriers, and to better understand the perspectives and contributions that other team members bring to patient care. Evaluation findings suggest that meaningful interprofessional education can be introduced effectively to students either prior to or while they are maturing in their professional roles.