Postgraduate Course: Palliative Care and Symptom Management (IMED11030)

Course Outline
School	Edinburgh Medical School	College	College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course type	Online Distance Learning	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	This course will focus on how to deliver high quality palliative and end of life care and how to manage symptoms in patients with advanced, progressive, life-limiting disease.
Course description	This course will provide students with a detailed knowledge and understanding of palliative care and symptom management through tutorial-based group discussion of complex clinical cases, online lecture materials and recommended background reading. The course will cover: the philosophy of palliative care; the principles of anticipatory care planning; the pathophysiology of commonly encountered symptoms, such as pain, breathlessness and nausea, and the pharmacology of drugs used to manage these symptoms; the clinical management of emergencies in palliative medicine; the recognition and care of the dying patient; law and ethics relevant to care and treatment at end of life. The course will also explore the important role of non-pharmacological interventions in palliative care and the value of the multi-professional team in providing psychological, social and spiritual support.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	MVM Online Learning Block 2
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5, Online Activities 23, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 70 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Coursework 100%«br /» The assessment is coursework: written assignment and online asynchronous discussion boards.
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Demonstrate a critical understanding of the principles of palliative and end of life care Apply knowledge of symptom pathophysiology and clinical pharmacology to develop management plans for patients experiencing symptoms of progressive, life-limiting disease Appraise the value and limitations of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments commonly used in the palliative and end of life care setting Discuss the clinical presentation and management of emergencies in palliative medicine Evaluate decisions relating to care and treatment towards the end of life using legal and ethical frameworks