The Network of Pediatric Palliative Care Educators: Cultivating Community in Interprofessional Education

Interprofessional education is essential to pediatric palliative care (PPC), however, to date the PPC community has no dedicated organization of educators.

To conceptualize and create a PPC educational community of practice (CoP): the Network of Pediatric Palliative Care Educators (NPPCE).

We describe NPPCE's conceptualization, preparation, advisory board formation, curriculum planning and marketing. A baseline needs assessment survey, and one-year follow-up survey were sent to members. Survey data were analyzed descriptively.

In 2021, 436 members completed a NPPCE needs assessment survey. Members were from 135 cities in 17 countries, reported a variety of educator training and educational roles, and identified as attending physicians (58.0%), resident/fellow trainees (9.4%), advance practice providers (APPs) (9.2%), social workers, (5.7%), nurses (5.0%), psychologists (4.1%), or other professions (4.1%). Despite participating in education in numerous ways, only 53.1% of members felt connected to an educational community. After one year of bimonthly NPPCE content (6 virtual sessions), 59 members (14%) reported attending or watching a mean of 3/6 sessions (range 1-5); the primary reasons for attendance were to connect with peers and learn about a particular topic. Sessions were rated as highly pertinent to members' practice (mean = 4, SD 3-5). All respondents planned to attend future NPPCE sessions.

NPPCE was formed with the intent to advance access to, and quality of, interprofessional PPC education through a community for collaboration and dissemination of educational best practices, research, and resources. This can serve as a model for various healthcare fields to connect and educate their members.