INSIGHTS – 2023 Q4
As we head into 2024, we are very grateful for those of you who generously supported our fundraising through this past year. And a special thank you to all of you who helped Shine Some Light with our year end appeal!
This edition of INSIGHTS highlights our online and in-person education programs from the last months of 2023. Training a single doctor or nurse in palliative care can have an exponential impact in South and Southeast Asia. As an example, a palliative care specialist at an out-patient clinic in India may see more than 50 patients each day. Over a year, that means that specialist has the potential to provide pain relief and compassionate care for more than 10,000 patients.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance, relevance, and economic viability of virtual education. And our numbers back this up.
Nurses take part in role play during a session on effective palliative care communication facilitated by TWCC volunteers Dr. Megan Doherty and nurse practitioner Rachel Neufeld during their December visit to Compassionate Narayanganj – a community-based palliative care program in Bangladesh.
Photo Rachel Neufeld/Two Worlds Cancer
Virtual Education – The Numbers
In the past three years, 3182 participants from more than 55 organizations have participated in the online programs that TWCC volunteers provide free of charge. Today, 50 volunteer faculty – with a wide range of palliative care expertise from across the globe – provide support for the ECHO sessions and the on-going mentorship of participants and clinical support via WhatsApp groups.
Adult and children‘s palliative care ECHO sessions have been offered to participants in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Philippines. Additionally this fall an Eastern Mediterranean Region ECHO session was started with more than 100 participants from 20 countries.
Fellowship congratulations and welcome
This week, 50 participants gathered for a virtual ceremony to congratulate the three graduating Fellows and welcome the five new Fellows to the one-year, Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship that TWCC supports.
The program is offered online in partnership with the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care along with our Sunflower Children‘s Network‘s international volunteer faculty and includes clinical time spent in the Fellows own countries and at the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care.
This year‘s graduates are from India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The five new Fellows joining the program are from India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
In addition, there are now five Fellows training in adult palliative care at MNJ Institute, Hyderabad in a three year fellowship. The Fellows are from the states of Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala.
Visiting partners in Nepal and Bangladesh
In October, TWCC volunteers Dr. Natasha Datoo (Canuck Place Children‘s Hospice, BC Children‘s Hospital), nurse practitioner Camara van Breemen (Canuck Place), and researcher Manon Ranger (BC Children‘s Hospital Research Institute, UBC Nursing) visited Nepal providing workshops on children‘s palliative care including procedural pain and pain management at Kanti Children‘s Hospital and Bhakatpur Cancer Hospital (both in the Kathmandu Valley) and
Green Pastures Hospital (in Pokhara).
This trip was part of the research initiative and partnership with our Sunflower Children‘s Network, Canuck Place Children‘s Hospice, and the Centre for International Child Health at BC Children‘s Hospital.
Also in the fall, volunteers Dr. Megan Doherty (Sunflower Children‘s Network program director) and nurse practitioner Rachel Neufeld (Canuck Place) visited Nepal and Bangladesh.
In Nepal, Rachel and Megan provided communication skills training for pediatric intensive care nurses and additional training for general pediatric and surgical nurses at Kanti Children's Hospital and Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital – introducing key concepts in pain management and palliative care nursing.
Images from Compassionate Narayanganj
While in Bangladesh, they conducted training with residents and nurses from the Department of Palliative Medicine, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. The sessions aimed to enhance communication skills and enable better end-of-life care. They also visited Compassionate Narayanganj – a community-based palliative care program in the sixth largest city in Bangladesh, supported in part by TWCC.
Children's Palliative Care Leadership Institute
We are excited to announce the launch of a one-year training and mentorship program in South and Southeast Asia. A joint venture with our Sunflower Children‘s Network, Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care, and St. Jude Global Palliative Care (Memphis, USA).
The Children‘s Palliative Care Leadership Institute brings together a diverse group of emerging healthcare leaders from nursing, medicine, and allied health fields. Its aim is to equip them with the necessary skills to lead and champion healthcare innovations for children with serious illnesses. A dynamic group of 22 young and emerging leaders started this program in December. The program includes a two-day workshop in Hyderabad, India in February 2024.
Our volunteers are the heart of our organization
Check out the Q&A with with
Dr. Peter Louie who has volunteered with TWCC and our Sunflower Children‘s Network since 2019.
Dr. Louie is a pediatric palliative care specialist with Canuck Place Children‘s Hospice and BC Children‘s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada.
Photo: Chuck Russell/ Two Worlds Cancer
Visit us on social media
To learn more about our programs and the regions where we partner visit our social media – We are on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and X (formerly Twitter). And watch the News section of our website as we introduce more of our volunteers with our ongoing Q&As.
We look forward to this year and your continued support – thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Simon Sutcliffe
President, Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration