Health Sciences and Social Services Rehabilitative Health/Services

Palliative Care Principles For Life Threatening Disease Management Training

SAQA US 117009 | NQF 3 | Credits 10 | Duration 7 Days
From $1,523 per delegate

Description

This course equips healthcare professionals and caregivers with the foundational principles of palliative care for managing life-threatening diseases. It focuses on holistic patient-centered approaches, pain and symptom management, psychosocial support, and ethical considerations in end-of-life care. Learners will gain the skills to improve quality of life for patients and their families.

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply the principles of palliative care to manage physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of patients with life-threatening diseases.
  • Analyze pain and symptom management strategies using pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.
  • Evaluate communication techniques for facilitating difficult conversations with patients and families about prognosis and end-of-life care.
  • Design a holistic care plan that integrates multidisciplinary team collaboration and ethical decision-making.
  • Implement strategies to support bereavement and grief in families and caregivers.
  • Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and respect for patient autonomy in palliative care settings.

Target Audience

This course is designed for nurses, doctors, social workers, allied health professionals, and caregivers who provide care to patients with life-threatening illnesses.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment.

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to Palliative Care and the South African Context

Objectives:
• Define palliative care and its principles within the South African healthcare framework.
• Understand the scope of life-threatening diseases and the need for palliative care.
• Identify the roles of the multidisciplinary team in palliative care.
• Recognize ethical and legal considerations in palliative care.

Topics:
• Definition and philosophy of palliative care
• Epidemiology of life-threatening diseases in South Africa
• Principles of the palliative care approach
• Ethical and legal frameworks (e.g., National Health Act, Patient Rights Charter)
• Introduction to the multidisciplinary team (MDT)
• Communication basics in palliative care

Day 2: Holistic Assessment and Symptom Management

Objectives:
• Conduct a holistic patient assessment including physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains.
• Apply evidence-based approaches to common symptom management.
• Understand pain assessment and management principles.
• Recognize the importance of advance care planning.

Topics:
• Holistic assessment tools (e.g., ESAS, IPOS)
• Pain management: WHO analgesic ladder, opioid use
• Management of nausea, dyspnoea, fatigue, and other symptoms
• Psychological and spiritual assessment
• Introduction to advance care planning
• Documentation and care planning

Day 3: Communication, Counselling, and Psychosocial Support

Objectives:
• Demonstrate effective communication skills with patients, families, and the team.
• Provide psychosocial support to patients and families.
• Understand grief, loss, and bereavement processes.
• Apply cultural sensitivity in communication.

Topics:
• Breaking bad news (SPIKES protocol)
• Active listening and empathy
• Family meetings and conflict resolution
• Psychosocial assessment and support
• Grief and bereavement counselling
• Cultural and spiritual considerations
• Self-care for healthcare providers

Day 4: Ethical and Legal Issues in Palliative Care

Objectives:
• Analyse ethical dilemmas in palliative care decision-making.
• Understand legal aspects including living wills and DNR orders.
• Discuss euthanasia and assisted dying in the South African context.
• Apply ethical principles to clinical scenarios.

Topics:
• Ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice
• Withholding and withdrawing treatment
• Informed consent and capacity assessment
• Legal frameworks: National Health Act, Children's Act
• Advance directives and living wills
• Euthanasia and assisted dying debate
• Case studies and ethical decision-making

Day 5: End-of-Life Care and the Dying Process

Objectives:
• Recognize signs of impending death and manage the terminal phase.
• Understand care of the dying patient (physical and emotional).
• Provide support to the family during the dying process.
• Discuss last offices and post-mortem care.

Topics:
• Signs of approaching death
• Symptom management in the last days
• Terminal agitation and its management
• The Liverpool Care Pathway (adapted)
• Spiritual care at end of life
• Family support and presence
• Last offices and cultural rituals
• Organ donation and post-mortem procedures

Day 6: Bereavement Support and Self-Care

Objectives:
• Understand the stages and types of grief.
• Provide bereavement support to families.
• Identify complicated grief and referral pathways.
• Implement self-care strategies to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.

Topics:
• Grief theories (Kübler-Ross, Worden)
• Normal vs. complicated grief
• Bereavement assessment and support
• Cultural practices in mourning
• Self-care and resilience
• Burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral distress
• Staff support and debriefing

Day 7: Integration, Quality Improvement, and Practical Application

Objectives:
• Integrate palliative care principles into daily practice.
• Apply quality improvement tools in palliative care settings.
• Develop a personal action plan for implementing palliative care.
• Evaluate learning through case-based assessment.

Topics:
• Integration of palliative care across disease trajectories
• Quality improvement in palliative care (e.g., audits)
• Palliative care in different settings (hospital, home, hospice)
• Interdisciplinary team collaboration
• Case studies and group presentations
• Personal action plan development
• Course evaluation and certification

Practicals

No practicals for this training.

This course is made up of exercises and case studies delivered alongside the theory — no separate practical sessions are required to complete it.

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course and a final summative test at the end.

Daily Exercises — 30%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 30% to the final total.

Final Test — 70%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 70% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 30%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 70%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Daily Average 30% + Final Test 70%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
Online training — attend live sessions from anywhere via our virtual classroom.
Start End Delivery Season Price Action
Tue 08 Sep 2026 Wed 16 Sep 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,523 Register
Mon 28 Sep 2026 Tue 06 Oct 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,523 Register
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Fri 11 Dec 2026 Mon 21 Dec 2026 Virtual Summer 2026 $1,523 Register
Thu 14 Jan 2027 Fri 22 Jan 2027 Virtual Summer 2026 $1,523 Register
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Mon 08 Mar 2027 Tue 16 Mar 2027 Virtual Autumn 2027 $1,523 Register
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Thu 30 Dec 2027 Fri 07 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,523 Register
Wed 19 Jan 2028 Thu 27 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,523 Register
On-Campus training — face-to-face sessions at our training venues across Africa and beyond.
Showing all 493 sessions across 26 venues
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Fri 07 Aug 2026 Mon 17 Aug 2026 Johannesburg, South Africa Winter 2026 $3,283 Register
Mon 10 Aug 2026 Tue 18 Aug 2026 Cape Town, South Africa Winter 2026 $3,769 Register
Tue 11 Aug 2026 Wed 19 Aug 2026 Dubai, UAE Winter 2026 $5,929 Register
Wed 12 Aug 2026 Thu 20 Aug 2026 Pretoria, South Africa Winter 2026 $2,284 Register
Thu 13 Aug 2026 Fri 21 Aug 2026 Abu Dhabi, UAE Winter 2026 $5,929 Register
In-House training — we bring the trainer to your organisation, tailored to your team.
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Wed 16 Sep 2026 Thu 24 Sep 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,982 Register
Tue 06 Oct 2026 Wed 14 Oct 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,982 Register
Mon 26 Oct 2026 Tue 03 Nov 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,982 Register
Mon 14 Dec 2026 Tue 22 Dec 2026 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,982 Register
Fri 22 Jan 2027 Mon 01 Feb 2027 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,982 Register
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Wed 10 Mar 2027 Thu 18 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,982 Register
Tue 16 Mar 2027 Wed 24 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,982 Register
Mon 22 Mar 2027 Tue 30 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,982 Register
Fri 18 Jun 2027 Mon 28 Jun 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,982 Register
Thu 08 Jul 2027 Fri 16 Jul 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,982 Register
Wed 28 Jul 2027 Thu 05 Aug 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,982 Register
Tue 14 Sep 2027 Wed 22 Sep 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,982 Register
Mon 04 Oct 2027 Tue 12 Oct 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,982 Register
Fri 29 Oct 2027 Mon 08 Nov 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,982 Register
Mon 13 Dec 2027 Tue 21 Dec 2027 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,982 Register
Fri 07 Jan 2028 Mon 17 Jan 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,982 Register
Thu 27 Jan 2028 Fri 04 Feb 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,982 Register
Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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