Piloting a Patient Tool to Aid Palliative Care Referrals during Advanced Lung Cancer Treatment.

Context: Patient misperceptions are a strong barrier to early palliative care discussions and referrals during advanced lung cancer treatment.

Objectives: We developed and tested the acceptability of a web-based patient-facing palliative care education and screening tool intended for use in a planned multilevel intervention (i.e.

Palliative Care for the Interstitial Lung Disease Patient a Must and Not Just a Need.

Patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) have many unmet palliative care needs. The majority of patients with chronic ILD have poor access to a specialist in palliative medicine and that is due to several barriers. The mortality for the ILD patient is high and reaches up to 80% if admitted to the ICU with respiratory failure.

"I Just Feel Like I Always Did": Inotropic Dependency at End of Life.

Background: Patients not considered for mechanical circulatory support or heart transplant may be dependent on inotropic therapy at end of life. End-of-life conversations in advanced heart failure can be challenging for providers, but guidelines recommend frequent goals-of-care conversations when inotropes are used as a palliative treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify aspects of care pertinent for health-care professionals working with patients in end-stage heart failure who are receiving continuous inotropic support.

A first-year community-based service learning elective: design, implementation, and reflection.

Background: Medical schools have increasingly begun to incorporate service learning practices into their curricula.

Description: As part of a community-based service learning elective, 7 first-year medical students designed and implemented a health behavior education program for residents of a women's substance abuse recovery facility. The resulting program, Start Small, Feel Better, emphasized setting and accomplishing small goals to promote healthy lifestyle modifications.