Think Ottawa Medicine

Division of Palliative Care

Message from the Division Head

“There is an emerging body of evidence showing that introducing a palliative care approach earlier in the illness trajectory- not only at the end-of-life when a patient only has days or weeks to live- results in improved quality of life for patients and their families, improved control of symptoms and reduction in psycho-spiritual suffering, reduced health care costs and even longer life. Supportive and palliative care and treatments to control the disease, treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and inotropic heart support for patients with advanced heart failure, are not mutually exclusive. They should occur concurrently. Identifying patients earlier who are at increased risk of dying allows more appropriate decisions, including avoiding futile treatments and making better care plans. Moreover, palliative care is not limited to patients with cancer. Increasingly, research is showing that patients with non-cancer diseases that are incurable and progressive, including patients with end-stage heart, lung, neurological and renal diseases have many palliative needs. ”

~Dr. José Pereira, Professor and Head of the Division of Palliative Care

Overview

Our Division, working alongside colleagues from other disciplines in interprofessional teams, has evolved into a dynamic and academically productive team providing clinical coverage across several settings in Ottawa and the Champlain region. These range from in-hospital and community-based consult teams to acute palliative care units and hospices. We value research in the domains of clinical care and education and believe that these are the engines that drive excellence and best practices in these areas.

Palliative Medicine is now recognized as a sub-specialty by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, requiring a year of added competency training in the form of a residency or fellowship. Completion of such training or the equivalent thereof is a requirement to be a member of our Division. Palliative Medicine is unique in that clinicians come from a variety of specialist areas. Our Division has included family physicians, a pediatrician, critical care specialists, internists, oncologists, surgeons and community medicine specialists. We also have physicians with cross appointments from Psychosocial Oncology (Psychiatry) and the Division of Pulmonology. This brings to the specialty a broad range of competencies and perspectives. Our division is also enriched by members holding Masters and PhD degrees in Medical Education and Epidemiology and diplomas in Anesthesiology.

Alongside a busy clinical program, our Division has a variety of scheduled academic undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development activities. These include academic city-wide rounds (twice a month), weekly journal rounds, weekly Residents’ academic half-days, weekly case-based rounds and Research Rounds twice a month. The Research Rounds (called WIPS for Research Work in Progress) provide an opportunity to develop new research ideas and showcase the results of ongoing and completed Divisional research.

To advance our academic mission, we have formal affiliations with The Ottawa Hospital Research Insitute (OHRI), the Élisabeth Bruyère Research Institute (EBRI), and the Academy for Innovation in Medical Education (AIME) at the University of Ottawa. Our Division has submitted funding applications to numerous local, provincial and national research funding agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).  We also collaborate closely with colleagues in other centres and are investigators, co-investigators and collaborators on a number of multi-centre studies and projects.

Our Division also values the importance of health services planning and administration. Division members are active in a variety of hospital, regional, provincial, national and international committees. These include the new Regional Palliative Care Program in the Champlain (East Ontario) Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), the new Ottawa Hospice Services Plan  and Cancer Care Ontario.

Vision

We strive to be known locally, nationally and internationally as a Division that provides  the highest quality palliative care to patients and families, equal to that that we would expect for ourselves and our family members, and to be a place of choice for health professionals from across Canada and the world looking for opportunities to learn about and to work in palliative care.

Mission

To:

• Support, through consultation and shared care, our colleagues in family medicine and other specialty areas in providing primary-level palliative care
• Provide palliative care as the most responsible physicians at a specialist-level to palliative patients with complex needs
• Advance the field of palliative care through clinical research
• Diffuse new knowledge and best practices
• Advance medical and palliative care education through research in that area
• Educate health professionals and the public on best practices in palliative care

Notable Honours and Achievements in Recent Years:

• 2009 Alan Blizzard Award June 19^th, 2009. Recognizes exemplary collaboration in university teaching that enhances student learning. P. Hall, S. Brajtman, P. Barnes, T. Willett, L. Weaver, D. Mroz, B. Genereaux, P. O’Brien, B. Walbourne.
• Jose Pereira, Michael Aherne. Emeraldi Literati Outstanding Paper Award of 2008 for the Leadership in Health Services Journal, Emerald Group Publishing’s (U.K.), (2008). Paper entitled: “Learning and development dimensions of a pan-Canadian primary health care capacity-building project. Leadership in Health Service, 21(4):229-266.
• Jose Pereira, Thierry Currat. 1st Prize, Palliative Care Category, FilmEd Film Festival 2008; Festival d’Amiens (France) Video Reflexives: Formation interactive en soins palliatifs (Première partie : les proches) Health-related audiovisual materials to advance health care and healthcare education September 2008
• Pippa Hall, Peter Barnes, Susan Brajtman, Lynda Weaver. Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education Research Excellence Award for excellence in interdisciplinary research: Pippa Hall, February 2009
• Best Poster: Symposium on Teaching and Technology, Ottawa, ON, May 7^th,  2009  Hall P, Brajtman S, Barnes P, Weaver L, Willett T and Walbourne B.  “Total Pain:  An interprofessional narrative-based learning module.”
• Donald Ginsberg: Academy for Innovations in Medical Education (AIME) Best Poster Award. The 1^st Annual Medical Education Day, University of Ottawa (April 17, 2008). Resident Perspectives on the Nature of Suffering in Medical Illness. Selected for its visual effect, content, and overall discussions with the evaluators.
• Ramona Mahtani, Fellow, Palliative Medicine Residency Program. 2008 Purdue Resident Research Award from The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians.  Project entitled: Use of a Teaching Tool to Improve Residents’ Comfort in Providing Care for Imminently Dying Patients in Clinical Teaching Units:  A Prospective Trial (August 27, 2008). Dr. Tara Tucker was the learner preceptor for Dr. Mahtani’s research project.