Overview

EPEC (Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care) – Pediatrics was funded (from 2010-2017) by a US$ 1.6 million grant from the US National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute. EPEC-Pediatrics has become the most comprehensive pediatric palliative care (PPC) curriculum and dissemination project world-wide. To date 1,774 clinicians from 114 countries/territories from all 6 continents have undergone our training.

The EPEC-Pediatrics curriculum features state-of-the-art training in the skills required to address key domains of pediatric palliative care, including advanced pain and symptom management. The program is designed to give pediatric healthcare professionals (incl. physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, psychologists etc.) the knowledge and skills needed to provide excellent palliative care to patients and their families.

EPEC Curriculum

Education in Palliative & End-of-Life Care (EPEC) for Pediatrics is a comprehensive adaptation of the EPEC curriculum designed to address the needs of children, their families and pediatric oncology providers and other pediatric clinicians. It was developed by and continues to receive input from experts in several pediatric disciplines as well as parent advocate advisers. It consists of 24 modules in pain and symptom management in palliative care. These topics are taught as a combination of 18 distance learning modules and six in-person conference sessions. (EPEC Conference attendees will receive access to the 18 online modules.)

Module 1: Pediatric Palliative Care: Why Does it Matter?
Module 2: Child Development
Module 3: Family Centered Care
Module 4: Grief and Bereavement
Module 5: Self Care for Professionals *In-person training only.
Module 6: Team Collaboration and Effectiveness *In-person training only.
Module 7: Communication and Planning *In-person training only.
Module 8: Ethical and Legal Issues
Module 9: Teaching with EPEC-Pediatrics in the Face-to-Face Setting *In-person training only.
Module 10: Multimodal Analgesia
Module 11: Opioid Selection and Opioid Rotation
Module 12: Neuropathic Pain and Adjuvant Analgesia
Module 13: Procedural Pain
Module 14: Chronic Complex Pain
Module 15: Management of Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Module 16: Management of Respiratory Symptoms
Module 17: Management of Emotional Behavioral Symptoms
Module 18: Management of Neurological Symptoms
Module 19: Treatment of Refractory Distress at End-of-Life
Module 20: Preparation for Imminent Death
Module 21: Integrative Medicine
Module 22: Introduction to Quality Improvement
Module 23: Teaching Pain and Symptom Management *In-person training only.
Module 24: Methadone *In-person training only.