Merimna in collaboration with the Postgraduate Program “Specialized Palliative Care and Advanced Nursing Oncology” of the School of Nursing of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA) and the Palliative Care Unit Galilee under the auspices of ELNEC (End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium) and the Open Medical Institute, organized in Athens a Training of Trainers in Palliative Care. The training attended 29 nurses from 5 different cities in Greece and it took place from 3-6 September.The main topics of the seminar were pain and difficult disease symptoms management up to the final stage, communication skills and self-care for health professionals. The nurses attended the lectures and workshops and thereby improved their knowledge in care for patients – adults and children – with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and supporting their families. At the end of the program they were certified as trainers.The training was conducted by the internationally recognized health care professionals and academics in the field of Palliative Care Betty Ferrell, Professor and Director of Nursing Research and Education and Principal Investigator at City of Hope-Cancer Treatment and Research Center, Carrie L. Cormack, Associate Professor, University of South Carolina, Patrick J. Coyne, Program Director, Palliative Care, Medical School, University of Texas, Judith A. Paice, Research Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Nicoleta Mitrea, Senior Lecturer, Transylvania University of Brasov, Romania.
The team of organizers and trainers from Greece consisted of Professor Elizabeth Patiraki, Andreas Moulali, Maria Parara, Alexia Gerardi and Spyridoula Tsaroucha †.
In recognition of her work in Palliative Care by the scientific community in Greece, B. Ferrell was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Department of Nursing of the University of Athens, Greece.The seminar was dedicated to the memory of Spyridoula Tsaroucha, Doctor of Nursing,Administrative Head of the Pediatric Palliative Home Care Service of Merimnaand President of the Hellenic Society for Palliative Care of Children and Adolescents, to honor her work and valuable contribution to Palliative Care in Greece and abroad.
