New free online course from Lancaster University on palliative care and sedation

Led by Profs Nancy Preston and Sheila Payne, the three-week course has been developed as part of a partnership with a major European Commission funded study called Palliative Sedation.

The free online course entitled ‘Dying Well: the role of palliative care and sedation in end-of-life care’ is designed for health care professionals.

Prof Preston, who led the Lancaster team, said: “The course gives both members of the public and professionals in health and research the opportunity to explore our findings. You will hear from experts throughout Europe talk about this important topic.”

The course will give participants from around the world the opportunity to think about how we die, and the role that palliative care and sedation can play especially when there are difficult symptoms at the end of life.

This will help you gain an understanding of current palliative care practices and treatment options for end of life care across Europe and in the context of ethical and cultural differences.

Prof Sheila Payne and Dr Dunja Begovic helped to create the course and will be part of the team responding to course participants’ comments in online discussions.

The course includes a variety of educational components such as videos, written resources, interactive activities and quizzes to assess learning.

The course will be launched on October 16 and runs flexibly for three weeks, although participants can access it throughout the year.

For more information or to enrol on the course visit https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/dying-well-the-role-of-palliative-care-and-sedation-in-end-of-life-care/1