Pediatrics

Education in Palliative & End-of-Life Care (EPEC) for Pediatrics is a comprehensive adaptation of the EPEC curriculum designed to address the needs of children, their families and pediatric oncology providers and other pediatric clinicians. It was developed by and continues to receive input from experts in several pediatric disciplines as well as parent advocate advisers. It consists of 24 modules in pain and symptom management in palliative care. These topics are taught as a combination of 20 distance learning modules and six in-person conference sessions. This in-person conference is offered annually.

2019 Conference Topics

Topics presented at the 2019 conference include:

Teaching Pain and Symptom Management
Teaching with EPEC-Pediatrics in the Face-to-Face Setting
Team Collaboration and Effectiveness
Self-Care for Professionals
Communicating and Planning
Grief and Bereavement

Distance Learning Platform

A comprehensive distance learning platform offers healthcare providers an opportunity to experience the curriculum on their own schedule, available via the Canvas platform. Topics include:

Pediatric Palliative Care: Why Does It Matter?
Child Development
Family-Centered Care
Grief and Bereavement
Ethical and Legal Considerations
Broad-Spectrum Analgesia
Opioid Selection and Rotation
Neuropathic Pain: Adjuvant Analgesia
Procedural Pain Management
Chronic/Complex Pain Management
Management of Respiratory Symptoms
Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms
Preparing for Imminent Death
Quality Improvement Introduction
Integrative Medicine
Management of Refractory Distress
Management of Neurological Symptoms
Management of Gastrointestinal Symptoms

The development and initial implementation of EPEC - Pediatrics was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Grant #1R25CA151000-01). Stefan Friedrichsdorf, MD, of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, serves as the project’s principal investigator. Linda Emanuel, MD, PhD, and Joshua Hauser, MD, lead the Northwestern University consortium. Joanne Wolfe, MD, MPH, leads from Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. EPEC - Pediatrics is also pleased to work with co-investigator Stacy Remke, MSW, LICSW, from the University of Minnesota.

Conferences

For more information, please email EPEC.Pediatrics@UCSF.edu.

EPEC – Pediatrics

The curriculum features state-of-the-art knowledge in pain and symptom management, as well as training in the skills required to address key domains for pediatric palliative care. The curriculum is designed to give pediatric healthcare providers, especially pediatric oncology specialists, the knowledge and skills needed to provide excellent palliative care to their patients and their families. Based on the well-established and proven training methods of EPEC, this curriculum features a high-impact, widely disseminated approach that utilizes a train-the-trainer model. With knowledge gained through the EPEC - Pediatrics curriculum, physicians and advanced practice registered nurses will be equipped to become trainers who will educate local interdisciplinary teams that provide care to children with cancer and hematological conditions, thus optimizing pediatric palliative care outreach within the pediatric hematology/oncology context.

The EPEC - Pediatrics Professional Development Workshop

This one-day workshop is intended to familiarize participants with the theory and practice of adult learning and clinical practice improvement. Individuals who want to further enhance their teaching and leadership skills are welcome to attend.