Developing competencies for multidisciplinary hospice and palliative care professionals in Korea

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Standardizing education and improving performance in hospice and palliative care are essential.
• Competency-based assessment provides a framework for professional development in this field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail the development process and outcomes of hospice and palliative care competencies.
• To establish a consensus on essential competencies among Korean multidisciplinary experts.

Main Methods:

• A task force of physicians, nurses, social workers, and clergy was assembled.
• A two-round Delphi survey using a 5-point Likert scale assessed competency domain importance.
• A consensus meeting finalized the competency domains after the survey.

Main Results:

• Competencies encompass knowledge, skills, and attitudes, with varying domains and subdomains across professions.
• Key domains identified include physical care (physicians), symptom management (nurses), bereavement care (social workers), and communication (spiritual care).
• Attitude-related domains were highly prioritized for nurses and spiritual care providers.

Conclusions:

• The developed competencies define the specific roles of each specialist within a hospice and palliative care team.
• These competencies facilitate a structured, multidisciplinary approach to patient care.
• This framework supports standardized, high-quality palliative care delivery.