Medical School Hosts 14th Annual Palliative Care Conference

On November 16, 2007, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) hosted a successful Palliative Care conference in conjunction with Pfizer, Purdue and Paladin Labs. Dr. Andrew Knight, local General Practitioner in Oncology, Palliative Care Lead for the Northeast and NOSM Associate Professor, welcomed more than 120 participants and health-care professionals from across Northern Ontario.

An array of notable health-care professionals, including Drs. Deborah Dudgeon and Natalie Kontakos, presented plenary sessions that covered a wide range of issues, such as The Provincial Palliative Care Integration Project and Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale and The Palliative Performance Scale and Prognostication. The guiding principles of palliative care were discussed in depth to ensure sensitization to, and understanding of, persons living with a life-threatening illness. Participants also had the opportunity to enhance their skills to be better able to respond to patients and families dealing with end-of-life care.

“The Palliative Care conference is a great accomplishment for our community and Northern Ontario as it offered an opportunity for health-care providers to meet, share experiences and learn about topics relating to the important issue of palliative care,” said Dr. Andrew Knight, co-chair of the Palliative Care Advisory Committee. “This conference is a result of the hard work and dedication of a variety of committee members,” he said.

The Palliative Care conference is one of many conferences hosted by NOSM in recent months. The event was well attended and an occasion for all participants to network and draw upon the expertise and experience of palliative care specialists.