The Annual EPEC Trainer Conferences and
Professional Development Workshop

EPEC Welcomes Sunny Jui-Shan Lin, MD, PhD

"I think as doctors we are always trying to provide better solutions to our patients, especially patients who need palliative care," Dr. Lin remarked. Because she is trained in both Western and traditional Chinese medicine, she is able to conceptualize her patients´ health using both models. She notes that the Western medical model provides crucial interventions for problems that cannot be addressed with Chinese medicine, such as neurosurgery for a brain tumor. In cases where Western medical interventions have been tried without success, Chinese medicine may be able to offer solutions that address symptoms and improve quality of life. Dr. Lin is passionate about the benefits that Chinese medicine can provide to alleviate a patient´s suffering.

Dr. Lin recently published the first of a series of papers on a newly developed English-language Body Constitution Questionnaire, a quality of life questionnaire based on the principles of Chinese medicine, in collaboration with the Buehler Center´s Dr. Chih-Hung Chang. Her time here this summer will be spent doing further work to integrate principles of traditional Chinese medical theory into Western medical practice. In addition to her work with Dr. Chang, Dr. Lin will also partner with Dr. Joshua Hauser and Dr. Linda Emanuel to create a module of Chinese medicine practice for the Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care (EPEC) Program. The Program will be strengthened by Dr. Lin´s unique knowledge and perspective, and the Buehler Center looks forward to the results of this exciting collaboration.

Conferences

Leadership Summit

Palliative Care in the Emergency Department

Dr. Linda Emanuel will be speaking at the World Congress 3rd Annual Leadership Summit on Hospice and Palliative Care to be held June 22-24, 2011 in Chicago. Her keynote address, "The Impact of Serious and Terminal Illness on Household Economics," will be held on June 23rd. You can save $300 on the registration fee by using PROMO CODE: EYC695 and PRIORITY CODE: HL11030-01554. This offer is not valid for government/webcast rates.
Recently, the Medical Council of India has approved Palliative Medicine as a specialty as well as a three-year postgraduate residency program in Palliative Medicine. This step forward is the result of the hard work of many palliative care workers, not to mention the physician and nurses who have championed the cause. Congratulations to everyone involved in this historic step forward!

EPEC has been involved in the development of palliative care in India since 2007. The EPEC for India Project started through a grant from LIVESTRONG. Pallium India is now primarily responsible for the dissemination of the EPEC - India Curriculum. It is also available for free online on the EPEC Partner Initiatives page (http://epec.net/international.php).

Joshua Hauser, MD, and Susan Blacker, MSW, presented a webinar (web-based seminar) on the EPEC-Caregiver/Navigating the System curriculum for the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Network (SWHPN), a palliative care social work group. This curriculum seeks to assist people who are living with cancer and their family caregivers as they navigate the complex health care system. The webinar consisted of an overview of the curriculum and a sample module. The closing portion of the webinar consisted of an open discussion about how social workers could use the curriculum. In addition, Dr. Hauser presented a webinar on the curriculum for the American Cancer Society Cancer Navigators Program.
"Palliative Care in the Emergency Department", a News & Perspective article in the December 2010 Annals of Emergency Medicine mentions EPEC-EM and includes quotations from Dr. Joshua Hauser, EPEC Director, Dr. Tammie Quest, EPEC-EM Director, and Dr. Michael Gisondi, EPEC-EM Co-Investigator. The article can be found here.
Tammie Quest, MD, director of the EPEC-Emergency Medicine Project, was featured in a recent Slate Magazine article about palliative care and emergency medicine. In the article, Dr. Quest discusses how palliative care can be incorporated in the emergency department and describes some of the daily issues she encounters with patients. The article can be found here.