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Modules:
Introduction
1. Advance Care Planning
2. Communicating Bad News
3. Whole Patient Assessment
4. Pain Management
5. Assisted Suicide Debate
6. Anxiety, Delirium
7. Goals of Care
8. Sudden Illness
9. Medical Futility
10. Common Symptoms
11. Withholding Treatment
12. Last Hours of Living
13. Cultural Issues
14. Religion, Spirituality
15. Legal Issues
16. Social and Psychological
More About:
Hospice Care
Clergy and Faith Communities
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Responding to Persistent Requests
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Requests for physician-assisted suicide occur infrequently in most physicians’ careers
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Clinical experience suggests that most requests will resolve if unmet needs are addressed using the approach offered in this module
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It also remains a fact that, as of early 1999, in all but Oregon, physician-assisted suicide remains illegal
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Where PAS requests are declined, full comfort care should continue and the professionals should continue to work in partnership with the patient and family
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However, despite doubled and redoubled efforts to assess and address root causes of suffering and provide high quality palliative care, requests for physician assisted suicide and euthanasia may occasionally persist
- It is not the purpose of this introductory module to discuss such rare cases
- These are likely to be complex and should be handled in consultation with experts
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