Advance care planning: challenges and approaches for pediatricians.

Background: There is increasing recognition of the value of advance care planning for children with life-limiting conditions. It is important that we acknowledge and reflect on the challenges that this work presents in order to optimize practice.

Objective: Our aim was to review advance care planning for children with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions (LTLLCs) in our local area.

Paediatric palliative medicine in the UK: past, present, future.

Like any new specialty, paediatric palliative medicine is facing challenges as it establishes itself. While many of the required core skills have their roots in adult palliative medicine, its practitioners come from a range of paediatric backgrounds that include oncology, community paediatrics, neurodisability and acute pain. Such heterogeneity has been invaluable in bringing together the diverse set of skills and competencies needed by children and families facing life-limiting illness.