A Decade of Palliative Care-Focused Virtual Clinical Skills Training

Key Message: This session summarizes the results of a decade of innovative online training in palliative care clinical skills for 160,000 specialty and non-specialty interprofessional clinicians, by the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), to address the dearth of palliative care skills training across clinical professions.

Abstract:

Background/Purpose: Palliative care improves quality of care and health care experience for those living with serious illness and their caregivers (1). Implementation of communication, pain and symptom management skills reduces hospital costs and length of stay (2). However, 70 % of clinicians report a lack of palliative-skills focused training for the care of their patients with serious illness (3, 4).

Approach: In 2015, the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) debuted the comprehensive online palliative care clinical training curriculum to address the dearth of palliative care skills training across a variety of clinical professions. CAPC clinical training centers on enduring online courses - rigorously and frequently launched and updated with an interprofessional lens to reflect the latest evidence-based practice. CAPC has now trained over 160,000 clinicians across various disciplines through 1.4 million course completions and issued over 1.2 million continuing education credits. The curriculum supports a range of training needs, from onboarding new hires and fulfilling education mandates like the DEA-8-hour opioid and substance use disorder training to academic training of medical students and residents. Learners earned 117,000 designations in communication skills, pain, dementia, symptom management and others with up to an 81% net positive change in post-comfort levels for skill implementation. Between 2022 and 2024, the average CAPC learner took 5 courses, and members who specialize in Hospice and Palliative Medicine or Geriatrics constituted 39% of course takers and 48% of course completions. An overwhelming majority of learners repeatedly recommend CAPC courses to their peers and colleagues.

Implications/Lessons Learned: Online palliative care clinical skills training using an enduring evidence-based curriculum allows for effective training of large groups of interprofessional clinicians in a scalable and cost-effective manner. Future curricular developments involve faculty-led interactive virtual clinical workshops and certificate programs to deepen clinical skill development and mentorship.

References: 1. Davila C, Nouri S, Chan SH, et al. Perceptions of Patient-Clinician Communication Among Adults With and Without Serious Illness. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(3):e250365. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0365
2. May P, Normand C, Cassel JB, et al. Economics of Palliative Care for Hospitalized Adults With Serious Illness: A Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(6):820-829. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.0750
3. Fulmer T, Escobedo M, Berman A, Koren MJ, Hernández S, Hult A. Physicians' Views on Advance Care Planning and End-of-Life Care Conversations. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018;66(6):1201-1205. doi:10.1111/jgs.15374
4. Anderson WG, Puntillo K, Boyle D, et al. ICU Bedside Nurses' Involvement in Palliative Care Communication: A Multicenter Survey. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016;51(3):589-596.e2. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.003