An Educational Needs Assessment for Outpatient Palliative Care Clinicians.

As the field of palliative medicine continues to grow in community-based settings, outpatient palliative care clinics have become an important site for providing upstream palliative care to patients and families. It is unclear whether current training models, focused predominantly on the inpatient setting, adequately prepare clinicians for outpatient palliative care practice. We performed an online educational needs assessment survey of physicians and advanced practice providers working in outpatient palliative care clinics.

Opioid-Sparing Effects of Topical Ketamine in Treating Severe Pain From Decubitus Ulcers.

Pain from pressure ulcers can severely impact a patient's quality of life. Evidence-based treatment of ulcer-related pain typically relies on systemic opioids with limiting side effects. Literature exists on the use of topical ketamine for neuropathic pain, but not for tissue injury in general and for decubitus ulcer pain specifically.