Excellence in Postlicensure Interprofessional Palliative Care Education: Consensus Through a Delphi Survey

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care Education
• Healthcare Workforce Development
• Interprofessional Education

Background:

• Growing demand for palliative care clinicians necessitates standardized educational programs.
• Existing palliative care educational programs require robust quality standards for effective workforce development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe high-quality postlicensure interprofessional palliative care education programs.
• Establish consensus on essential characteristics for such programs.

Main Methods:

• A Delphi consensus process involving palliative care clinicians and educators.
• Iterative surveys refined initial characteristics, definitions, and subcategories.
• Involved a steering committee and over 50 participants across multiple professions.

Main Results:

• Consensus reached on 6 key characteristics for high-quality programs.
• Characteristics include competencies, content, educational strategies, interprofessional focus, evaluation, and systems integration.
• Defined required and recommended subcategories for each characteristic.

Conclusions:

• The described quality standards can guide learners in program selection.
• Faculty can use these standards for course development and quality improvement.
• Professional organizations can utilize them for program evaluation and certification.