We have worked hard to keep the cost as low as possible and we think that £225 per person is really good value given the high quality consultant delivered teaching, the course materials including “Symptom Management in Advanced Cancer” by Twycross and Wilcock and the pre session reading and notes, not to mention the buffet dinner at each session.

This course comes highly recommend by previous attendees and offers the opportunity to meet the wider palliative care team, earn ten hours of education, and upon completion the possibility of arranging an individually tailored attachment at The Priscilla Bacon Centre.

We have again this year intentionally kept numbers to a minimum which means that places can go very quickly.

Please contact Mrs Sandy Taylor ( Sandra.Taylor@nchc.nhs.uk) for more information

For more clinical information please contact me ( dplume@nhs.net) or Dr Katie Soden          ( katie.soden@nchc.nhs.uk)

There is now a short hiatus for the education team to draw breath, before we recommence refreshed and reinvigorated on the 11th May.

If you are interested in applying for the 2012/2013 course then please email Sandra            ( Sandra.Taylor@nchc.nhs.uk ) for more information.

All is not lost however because we still have one place left for the next course which starts in March 2011!

This course will run once a month on a Wednesday evening from 19:15-21:15 with a buffet dinner beforehand. As with the previous course there will be a break between March and May and July and September to allow holidays and general battery recharging!

As you would expect with a course like this places are limited but please feel free to contact myself or Sandy  if you would like an application form or to enquire about the 2011/2012 course.

It was really encouraging to see the lively discussion and productive interaction over the course of the evening, and to read the particularly glowing feedback afterwards.

Next month Dr Phil Wilkins (Consultant in Palliative Medicine) will be leading the session on Nausea and Vomiting, with an opportunity for discussion of some cases  from the floor.

If you haven’t yet chosen a Christmas present for that special Norfolk GP in your life then don’t despair as we still have several places left on the course for next year.  The next course will  kick off in March and again will run one a month for six months. We have held the cost for 2011 so don’t delay, because nothing says “I love you” like a place on the “must have” GP Course of 2011!

It will be interesting to see what the feedback is after the Anxiety and Depression session next month. This cohort, in common with a lot of us GPs, feel that they manage anxiety and depression really well already. Wonder whether there will be any surprises?

With Sandy (the education unit secretary) moving offices off site I cant wander down and have a chat as I normally would, however I think we still have one or two places left for the 2011/2012 course. I would suggest that if you have any interest you contact Sandy quickly because I suspect these places will not hang around! Her contact details are on the leaflet if you have one or she can be emailed on sandra.taylor@norfolk-pct.nhs.uk

It is just a few short days until we start the GP Palliative Care Education course and I for one am really excited!

The fact that I am planning to have a long overdue haircut must give you  some idea of the gravity of what is to come!

We sent out the pre-course reading a few weeks ago, so we can cram even more into the evening sessions. Having had a taster hopefully everyone else is as excited as us at the prospect of what is to come.

If you applied but missed out this year then you will have been put on the waiting list, if you didn’t apply this year but wish you had then there are still a few places left on the waiting list for 2011/2012.

If you are finding it difficult to relax because you are worried that you aren’t keeping up to date with cancer and palliative care issues in Norfolk then help is at hand!

Just follow @Norfacilitator for news, updates, rants and burning local issues, and begin to sleep soundly again.

You may be aware that the education team at PBL have just launched the leaflets for the new GP Palliative Care Course which will be running as a series of two hour evening sessions, from September 2010.

Topics will include Pain, Breathlessness, Anxiety and Depression, Nausea and Vomiting, Palliative Care Emergencies and End of Life . Each topic comes with its own course notes prior to the session and will be interactive and case study based. Participants are encouraged to bring their own experiences. Each session is lead by one of the Palliative Medicine Consultants as well as an appropriate senior community nurse or AHP.

For the very reasonable price of £195 you even get a light supper, “Symptom Management in Advanced Cancer ” by Twycross and Wilcock-the definitive symptom control textbook, and the possibility of arranging an individually tailored clinical placement at PBL thrown in!

Spaces are deliberately limited so please contact Sandy Taylor (Course Secretary)  on 01603 255702 for more information or to book your place. Applications close on the 13th August 2010 or as soon as the course is full.

We are pleased to announce that we now have Stephanie’s excellent presentation on communication at the end of life.

It can be found in the article below, along with the really useful drug chart and drug kit.

As with any of these new documents we would welcome your feedback, either as comments below or via email to the usual address.

Feedback on the presentation at the refresher course has so far been excellent, with many people requesting copies of the Drug Kit and Drug Chart either in electronic or paper copy.

I have now uploaded these forms to my previous post for your enjoyment. Please remember that the drug chart has not yet been fully sanctioned by the PCT DTB but is still at a pilot stage.

It would be really helpful if you use these forms for us to get some feedback on them. Please either email your comments and suggestions to me or post them as comments under this post.