370 Vol. 43 No. 2 February 2012Schedule With Abstracts

Objectives1. Identify diagnoses which are ethically appro-

priate for perinatal palliative care.2. Describe the limits of parental autonomy in

terms of requesting or refusing life-pro-longing treatment in the neonatal period.

3. Identify the role of conscientious refusal onthe part of professionals, especially with re-gard to palliative care of infants who mightsurvive.

The American Academy of Pediatrics ‘‘supportsan integrated model of palliative care in whichthe components of palliative care are offered atdiagnosis and continued throughout thecourse of illness.’’ A prenatal diagnosis ofa life-limiting condition therefore requires notonly care for the baby after birth but also ofthe mother and fetus during pregnancy anddelivery. This raises a host of ethical issues forthe obstetrical and pediatric teams, as theyweigh often-competing obligations to motherand fetus.This session will begin with an obstetrician anda pediatric palliative care consultant discussingthe obligation to accede to maternal requestfor caesarian section for a fetus with Trisomy13. The short- and long-term complications ofC-section are well-knowndand felt to be accept-able risks when the expected outcome isa healthy mother and a healthy neonatedbutdoes a mother’s wish for a baby born alive justifythese in the context of a lethal anomaly?Next a pediatric intensivist and ethicist will ex-plore the limits of parental autonomy in neonataldecision-making. The AAP specifies certainconditions (such as extreme prematurity, anen-cephaly, and Trisomy 13) as appropriate fornon-resuscitation in the delivery room, but whatif the family requests aggressive treatment forseemingly unachievable goals? Conversely, howshould physicians respond to parental requestsfor purely palliative care in situations where out-comes are not as bleak?Attendees will leave the session with a thoroughunderstanding of the conflicting ethical obli-gations in perinatal decision-making, as well asan algorithm by which to evaluate parental re-quests for aggressive treatment or purely pallia-tive care. There will also be discussion of therole of conscientious refusal on the part of profes-sionals in situations where the parents’ requestrepresents a fundamental violation of one’s ownvalues.

Speed Dating With Pharmacists:50 Practical Medication Tips at Endof Life (406)Kathryn Walker, PharmD BCPS CPE, Universityof Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD.Mary McPherson, PharmD BCPS CPE, Universityof Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD.Mina Kim, PharmD, University of MarylandSchool of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD.(All authors listed above for this session have dis-closed no relevant financial relationships.)

Objectives1. Describe three medication tips related to dos-

age formulations.2. List three medications tips related to medica-

tion administration.3. List three medication tips related to stopping

or starting medications.Complex medication decisions are an integralpart of treating palliative care patients. Pharma-cists have a unique perspective on using thesemedications creatively and effectively. This onehour session will flirt with tips and tricks on usingmedications appropriately for patients facing ad-vanced diseases. Whether debriding a medicationprofile, aggressively treating symptoms, or strate-gizing adosage formulation, it canbehard to com-mit to medication decisions. Three pharmacistswill speed-date their way through 50 medicationtips designed to highlight important and littleknown medication facts. Topics to be covered in-clude: when to taper maintenance medications,side effects such as hypogonadism with opioids,rectal administration of oral medications, usingtopical opioids, tips for maximizing dosing ofpatches, buccal versus transmucosal administra-tion, using opioid antagonists, anticholinergicsand the blood brain barrier, medications thatyou can crush versus dissolve, value of nystatinfor thrush, and 40 more! Find a tip that you arecompatible with that may just change your life.

SIG Symposia

Using Pop Culture and Visual Arts inPalliative Care Education (407)Humanities SIGLyra Sihra, MD, The Methodist Hospital, Hous-ton, TX.(Sihra has disclosed no relevant financialrelationships.)

Vol. 43 No. 2 February 2012 371Schedule With Abstracts

Objectives1. Define pop culture/visual arts and describe

their importance in educational techniquesand applicability in palliative and end-of-lifeteaching.

2. Describe and demonstrate the use of pop-ular visual arts to directly link effective vi-sual learning and palliative care education.

3. Discuss how to develop attendees’ skills toincorporate this method into a standard edu-cational framework and provide specific re-sources to attendees.

The goal of this session is to repackage availablemedia into a palliative care context, therebytransforming its purpose from entertainmentto education. Palliative care education is para-mount in transforming our healthcare systemfrom a fragmented care model to a patientand family-centered model. The recipients ofthis education must be able to understand itsimportance in the care of seriously ill patients.A key component in education is the under-standing of how people learn. The mainlearning styles can be classified into auditory,visual, and kinesthetic (body motion). Since60% of the population consists of visuallearners, visual methods of instruction are cru-cial to teaching. This is particularly importantin teaching a subject that involves a paradigmshift from previously learned perceptions andideas.The best visual learning in medicine takes placeat the bedside with a skilled clinician. However,the classroom environment is still an importantforum for relaying new information.Current methods of palliative care instructioninclude oral lecture, role play, and use of com-puterized visuals (power point, etc.). Oral lec-ture and role play are particularly effective forverbal and kinesthetic learners. Commonlyused computerized visuals, however, generallydo not evoke strong emotional responses whichcan be useful in integrating an important con-cept into memory.The missing component of learning is often anemotional one. Emotion drives attention and at-tention drives learning. The use of popular me-dia and visual arts offers a teaching method thatstimulates the visual learner by provoking emo-tion and focusing attention on the important as-pects of palliative care.This session seeks to share specific popular me-dia examples paired with palliative care concepts

that will assist visual learners with integratingpalliative care concepts.

Becoming a Clinician Educator in PalliativeCare: Finding a Path (408)Early Career SIGJillian Gustin, MD, The Ohio State University,Columbus, OH. Gordon Wood, MD, Universityof Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.Julie Childers, MD, University of Pittsburgh, Pitts-burgh, PA. Juliet Jacobsen, MD, MassachusettsGeneral Hospital, Boston, MA. Jane DeLimaThomas, MD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute & Brig-ham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA.(All authors listed above for this session have dis-closed no relevant financial relationships.)

Objectives1. Discuss current clinician-educator pathways

within Palliative Care programs in academicmedical centers including the necessarycompetencies.

2. Describe steps to build academic portfoliosas clinician-educators in Palliative Care.

3. Identify current models/options for trainingclinician-educators in Palliative Care.

A passion for the clinical work, good communica-tion skills, and a sense of mission to spread themessage of quality end-of-life care lead many Pal-liative Care physicians into the role of clinician-educator. Their work can include teaching inclinical settings and classrooms, curriculum de-velopment, administration of educational pro-grams, mentoring, and educational research. Inaddition, they are often asked to train a widerange of learners that includes medical students,residents, fellows, faculty, interdisciplinary col-leagues, administrators, and policy makers aboutPalliative Care. Despite the clear need for educa-tion in Palliative Care and the willingness ofmanyproviders to take up this role, most Palliative Careclinician-educators have had little formal train-ing in education. Moreover, for many, the pathto developing a career as a clinician-educator isoften ill-defined in their institution. This highlyinteractive session aims to give palliative careproviders the context and tools needed to posi-tion themselves as successful clinician-educators.First, we will ask participants to share their expe-riences and challenges as clinician-educators inthe context of a brief review of the current litera-ture on the clinician-educator role in academicmedical centers. Second, we will brainstorm the