Easing Physical Symptoms: It's Not Just Hospice Anymore

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/easing-physical-symptoms

Introduction

### Course Review and Recommendation: Easing Physical Symptoms: It's Not Just Hospice Anymore In the realm of palliative care, understanding and addressing the physical symptoms associated with serious illnesses is paramount. The Coursera course titled "Easing Physical Symptoms: It's Not Just Hospice Anymore" dives deep into this crucial area, providing a comprehensive look at symptom management for patients and caregivers. #### Overview This course is tailored for healthcare providers, caregivers, and anyone interested in gaining a nuanced understanding of the physical symptoms experienced by individuals with life-limiting conditions. It emphasizes the importance of palliative care beyond the hospice context, examining how effective symptom management can significantly improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Throughout the course, participants will learn to employ symptom assessment tools, elucidating which symptoms are most prevalent and distressing for patients. The modules cover an array of topics, including anorexia, dyspnea, fatigue, cognitive impairment, and gastrointestinal issues such as nausea and constipation. #### Course Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Introduction to Common Symptoms and Anorexia**: The course kicks off with an introduction to symptom assessment tools and their significance in identifying and addressing the multitude of symptoms that arise from serious illnesses. The module focuses heavily on anorexia, a prevalent issue among patients, discussing its causes, emotional impact, and management strategies. This foundational knowledge is essential, as it lays the groundwork for understanding more complex symptoms that will be discussed later. 2. **Dyspnea**: The second module addresses dyspnea, or shortness of breath, a distressing symptom commonly faced by patients. Students will learn how to identify the different types and causes of dyspnea while gaining insights on assessment and management techniques, including pharmacological and integrative therapies. This segment is particularly illuminating as it connects the physiological understanding of dyspnea with practical strategies for empathetic patient care. 3. **Weakness and Fatigue**: The course then examines fatigue, often described as a debilitating non-pain symptom that significantly hampers daily functioning. This module emphasizes the need for providers to openly address fatigue and highlights common reversible causes, as well as coping strategies to help patients manage this pervasive issue. 4. **Cognitive Impairment**: Cognitive impairment is another critical aspect of serious illness care, often overlooked but vital for enhancing patient communication and care strategies. This module provides an overview of different types of cognitive impairments, their signs and symptoms, and how they influence the overall care plan for affected individuals. 5. **Nausea, Vomiting, and Constipation (NVC)**: The final segment delves into gastrointestinal symptoms, with a focus on nausea, vomiting, and constipation, common in advanced illness. It offers practical insights into both prevention and management, enabling caregivers to provide holistic support to patients. #### Why You Should Take This Course "Easing Physical Symptoms: It’s Not Just Hospice Anymore" is highly recommended for anyone involved in the healthcare sector, especially those working closely with patients experiencing serious illnesses. The course stands out for several reasons: - **Comprehensive Curriculum**: With its thorough approach to a range of distressing symptoms, it equips learners with important skills and knowledge applicable in real-world scenarios. - **Expert Instruction**: The course is crafted and taught by professionals with extensive backgrounds in palliative care, ensuring that participants receive up-to-date and evidence-based practices. - **Accessible Learning**: Available on Coursera, the course structure is flexible, allowing you to learn at your own pace, which is ideal for busy professionals and caregivers. - **Real-Would Applications**: Beyond theoretical knowledge, the course emphasizes practical strategies that you can apply immediately, enhancing the quality of care you provide. #### Conclusion In a field where understanding and compassion are paramount, the "Easing Physical Symptoms: It's Not Just Hospice Anymore" course provides invaluable insights into palliative care. By equipping individuals with effective strategies to manage distressing symptoms, this course ultimately fosters a more empathetic and informed healthcare approach. Whether you’re a healthcare provider, a family caregiver, or someone interested in enhancing your understanding of palliative care, this course is an excellent choice to further your learning and improve patient outcomes. Don’t miss the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those facing serious illness.

Syllabus

Introduction to Common Symptoms and Anorexia

Welcome! In this module, you will learn about physical symptom assessment and then about the distressing symptoms of anorexia (loss of appetite) and cachexia (extreme weight loss). People living with serious illness often have more than five non-pain symptoms, like loss of appetite, dyspnea, weakness, confusion and many others that are contributing to suffering. You will learn how to use a symptoms assessment tool to help providers understand what symptoms are present and what is most distressing and needs prompt attention. In the second part of this week, you will learn about the common symptom of anorexia: Loss of appetite. When you understand anorexia you are able to look for reversible causes, support patient and family emotional distress, and offer practical help to manage this problem.

In this module, you will review dyspnea assessment basics. You will start with defining dyspnea and the scope of the dyspnea problem in the palliative care setting. You will review various types and causes of dyspnea in people with serious illness. To understand how medications and integrative pain therapies work to decrease dyspnea, you need to know how the body recognizes dyspnea and makes a person short of breath. You will review how to evaluate a person’s dyspnea and how to help people pace themselves so that they can live with shortness of breath.

In this module you learn about the physical symptom of asthenia, also called fatigue. Fatigue and weakness are seen in almost all people living with serious illness. Although fatigue is common and very emotionally distressing, providers often don't talk about it with patients and families because they think that there is nothing they can do. Although fatigue is a difficult symptom to treat it is important to look for reversible causes, consider ways to reduce the distress of fatigue and provide practical help to cope and live well with serious illness.

In this module the learner will be introduced to the term “cognitive impairment”, the common types of this impairment, how these types differ, as well as signs and symptoms experienced by patients suffering with this type of serious illness.

Nausea, vomiting, and constipation are frequent symptoms among patients with advanced illness. The aim of this lecture is to review how these symptoms occur and how they can be treated from a palliative care perspective.