We are delighted to announce a new leadership award in palliative care. We are looking for evidence of leadership capacity building programmes worldwide that are striving to develop palliative care at a time when it is needed most. These initiatives could take place in your hospice, hospital or other palliative care institution.

The ‘Award for Palliative Care Leadership Programmes’ will be awarded to a training programme which best fulfills the stipulated criteria:

• Awareness and where possible evidence of a needs assessment which address national challenges
• Demonstrable evidence of national and/or international impact in palliative care
• Examples of accreditation or scientific awards, if any
• The ability to present a comprehensive leadership programme in palliative care which includes e.g. (Project) management, leadership theory, decision-making, personal development, research
• A portfolio of evidence based teaching, (clinical) experience exchange, best practice that demonstrates a range of diverse and innovative teaching methods to enhance knowledge, skills, attitudes and integrate theory and practice
• Strong evidence of quality assurance and outcome measurement programmes to identify process and assess impact
• Be able to show a multidisciplinary team in action.
• Provide evidence of an infrastructure (facilities, course management, student support, alumni) which demonstrates sustainability

An independent jury of internationally renowned experts from the EAPC and EUPCA will select the winner.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony that will take place during the EAPC congress in Madrid 2017. A representative of the winning institution will receive registration, accommodation and travel costs to attend the three day conference and the ceremony.

If you believe that your institution fulfills our criteria and wish to be considered for this exciting award then the application process opens on 15th September 2016.

The application form and further information will be published on the EUPCA website soon.

We are only a month away from the 9th EAPC World Research Congress which is being held in Dublin on the 9th-11th June. The European Palliative Care Academy will be attending the congress and will have a stand in the non-commercial exhibition area for the duration of the congress. We are having a small reception at the stand on Thursday 9th at 6pm. We would love to see lots of faces, both old and new, and talk to you about the course and what we offer.

We are very happy to announce that the EUPCA Leadership Course has been awarded the Quality Seal by the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA).

The process of reporting the ins and outs of our course culminated in an on-site visit which took place in September during the first course week in Cologne. A full day programme allowed FIBAA to speak with steering committee members, current and past participants and to take a look around our course facilities here in Cologne. In their final report, FIBAA named several criteria for which EUPCA exceeded the requirements including: international orientation of the course, practical business experience of the teaching staff and cooperation with academic institutions or enterprises.

This certification is a positive step for EUPCA and we are very appreciative to our steering committee members, lecturers and participants for supporting all the hard work.

At the beginning of February, our leaders and leaders in the making travelled to London for the second course week of the European Palliative Care Academy. The course week was held at the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s College London.

Experts, Dr Jonathan Koffman, Dr Catherine Evans, Professor Irene Higginson and Dr Richard Harding, among others, instructed the 19 participants on the subject of research that is crucial for building up leadership competencies and of central importance for the advancement of palliative care across Europe. After the introductory debate on the importance of evidence, the participants had sessions on many crucial aspects of research. They were taught how to plan and conduct a study, including study designs and quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection as well as the important aspect of ethical issues in palliative care research. Other important aspects taught were how to develop and evaluate complex interventions or how to critically appraise research papers. Moreover, they had a highly welcomed ‘speed dating ‘session with research experts from the Cicely Saunders Institute. Additionally, Professor Sheila Payne, former president of the EAPC and member of the EUPCA advisory board, taught the participants on the subject of consensus approaches to research in palliative care. As part of the Local Best Practice module, the participants visited St. Christopher’s Hospice, which is widely regarded as being the very first modern hospice ever built. The participants spoke highly of their visit there, describing it as “Very moving! It was great to have the possibility to be in the hospice set up by Cicely Saunders!” Overall the participants were very positive about their experiences in London, “I am really happy to have had the opportunity to be a part of this great week. Thank you so much!”

The next course week will take place in Gdansk, Poland and until that time participants will be busy conducting their personal projects in their home countries and carrying out their observation week at a European palliative care institution of their choice.

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Andreas Herpich, one of our alumni from the first cohort of the European Palliative Care Academy Leadership Course, had the honour of speaking at the German Federal State Parliament in Baden-Wüttenberg in May 2015.

The parliamentary meeting was on the topic of palliative care, gender and cultural sensitivity and Andreas was particularly positive about the respectful atmosphere which he experienced during his visit. In his speech, he spoke of the nursing profession and the importance of specialised palliative care to ensure people’s right to dying in comfort and dignity. There is an ongoing need for the development and improvement of palliative care education and services in Germany and a multidisciplinary approach is key in this process. Andreas is a trained nurse and works in Stuttgart at the Elisabeth-Kübler-Ross-Akademie^® as an educational consultant. Click here to watch Andreas’ speech in full (from 10mins 50secs).

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On 28.09.2015 the University Hospital of Cologne welcomed the second cohort of participants to take part in the Leadership Course of the European Palliative Care Academy. 19 participants from 10 European countries were carefully selected in an application process.

The European Palliative Care Academy (EUPCA) is a unique further education course which prepares palliative care professionals from the whole of Europe for prospective leadership tasks in their professional lives. The content of the course includes Personal Development, Project Management, Team Work, Research Methods and Advocacy.

From 28.09 till 02.10.2015 the participants in Cologne were tutored and achieved skills in primarily Project Management and Personal Development. Moreover, they were introduced to palliative and hospice care in Germany with the example of The Centre for Palliative Care at the University Hospital of Cologne and Rondorf Hospice. In the evenings, the participants were treated to various social events including a boat trip on the Rhein and a traditional ‘kölsch’ meal at a Brauhaus Close to the Cologne Cathedral.

„It is a great honour that our centre is to host this forward-looking initiative by the Robert Bosch Foundation” said Professor Raymond Voltz, the head of the first course week and the director of the Centre of Palliative Care at the University Hospital of Cologne.

The internal evaluation produced positive results with both content and organisation being highly praised, “a really enjoyable and thought provoking week” and many participants highlighted the international aspect as being particularly beneficial, “the participants differ in many ways but we all still have the same direction/vision”.

Photo: MedizinFotoKöln

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The first run of the EUPCA- Leadership Course has drawn to a close and we are proud and happy to say that all participants successfully graduated. But the question on our minds was what did the participants learn from their time with us? We posed this question along with several others in the final week of the course to see how far the participants felt they had come during their time with us. We have selected three videos for you to view which you can find below.

Boris Knopf – Germany

Gabor Benyo – Hungary

Ludo Vanopdenbosch – Belgium

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Prof. Daniela Mosoiu, responsible for the EUPCA modules Advocacy and Personal Development, is now a member of the EAPC board of directors.
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We met the members of our advisory board Prof. Frank Ferris, Prof. Sheila Payne and Prof. Philip Larkin (from left to right) at our stand during the EAPC Congress in Copenhagen. Our sincere thanks also to Prof Mary Callaway for all their great assistance to successfully realise this course.

Posted on May 8, 2015 by pallcare at EAPC blog https://eapcnet.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/leadership-starts-here-and-with-us/

Professor Sheila Payne speaking at the graduation ceremony

The Steering Committee celebrate the graduation of the first students of the European Palliative Care Academy and invite you to meet the team at the 14^th EAPC World Congress in Copenhagen this week. Louise Baker and Gerrit Frerich

“The EAPC needs you. Stand up. Get involved!”  This was the key message that Professor Sheila Payne, President of the European Association for Palliative Care and a member of the EUPCA Advisory Board, gave the 20 new graduates of the European Palliative Care Academy (EUPCA) on Saturday night in Brasov.

In the presence of distinguished guests and members of the Advisory Board, including Mary Callaway from the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) and Dr Frank D Ferris, executive director of palliative medicine, research and education for the OhioHealth system, the EUPCA team proudly celebrated the achievements and successes of their first 20 students in the home town of Hospice Casa Sperantei, Romania’s Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care. The 20 graduates, from 14 European countries with seven different professional backgrounds, received their certificates of achievement for completing the first-ever Academy course from members of the steering committee.

The European Palliative Care Academy is a joint project of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the University Hospital Cologne, Germany; the Nicolaus Copernicus University Torun, Poland; King’s College London, UK, and Hospice Casa Sperantei, Brasov, Romania, in collaboration with the EAPC. The course is made up of six modules –Project Management, Personal Development, Team Work, Research and Advocacy – and includes a personal project, as well as an observation week at a European Institution of the participant’s choice. The modules are taught in four face-to-face teaching weeks, one at each of the partner institutions. As the final module, Advocacy, was taught in Brasov, it seemed only right that this should be the location for the graduation ceremony.

“Not only have we been able to highlight the achievements of all our graduates this evening, but we have actively demonstrated that palliative care can really benefit from an international network,” remarked Assistant Professor Dr Daniela Mosoiu, Education and National Development Director at Hospice Casa Sperantei and a member of the EUPCA Steering Committee.

With the new intake of students in September 2015, EUPCA aims to expand and build upon that network. EUPCA will be represented at this week’s EAPC World Congress in Copenhagen with a stand and poster. In the ‘Meet the Experts’ session on Saturday 9 May (08.00 in meeting room 20) participants will also have the chance to meet some of the members of the EUPCA steering committee and teaching staff personally.

Graduate students from the European Palliative Care Academy, teaching faculty and guests

Now, the 20 graduates will be returning to their respective countries to continue advancing palliative care throughout Europe by applying what they have learnt throughout the course. The personal projects also ensure that the course is already having a direct impact on palliative care in at least 14 European countries. And the projects are just as varied as the students. From setting up an out-of-hours telephone service in Athens to developing a strategic bereavement plan for a Dublin hospice, or initiating an Advisory Group for Pediatric Hospices in Central Europe, the projects certainly demonstrate that the graduates really are on the way to becoming the palliative care leaders of tomorrow.

As Niamh Finucane, a social worker from Dublin, Ireland and EUPCA graduate, stated during the ceremony, “Leadership starts here. And with us,” proving that Sheila Payne’s message has already been received loud and clear.

Find out more…

• Click here for more information on the next course. Deadline for applications: 31 May 2015.
• Join us at the European Palliative Care Academy stand at the congress.
• Come along to our ‘Meet the Experts’ session on Saturday 9 May (08.00, meeting room 20).

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