About the Centre for Palliative Care
Background
The Centre for Palliative Care is part of St. Vincent’s Hospital and is a Collaborative Centre of The University of Melbourne, Australia. It was formed in 1996 and operates from premises in Fitzroy and Kew in Melbourne.
The Centre has a state-wide role in palliative care education and research in Victoria, with networks and collaborative projects extending nationally and internationally.
The Centre plays a pivotal role in the development and implementation of training and education programs for health professionals from a variety of disciplines, while undertaking cutting-edge research to set benchmarks and improve practices in palliative care.
Our work receives core funding from the Victorian Government Department of Health, research funding from Victorian and Australian Government agencies and other funding bodies, revenue from student fees and funding for special purposes from the Centre for Palliative Care Foundation.
Our Mission
- The Centre furthers the development of clinical practice in palliative care through:
Palliative care specialists in medical, nursing and allied health
Generalists including medical, nursing and allied health professionals,
who may be required to provide palliative care.
- Conducting research relating to palliative care, with an emphasis on planned and programmed strategic research, with a focus on applied clinical research.
- Developing education programs, directly and indirectly providing training for:
- Collaborating with organisations having similar interests in progressing the quality of palliative care in Australia and internationally.
Our Vision
Victorians will receive world’s best practice palliative care informed by clinical research and education via the Centre.
The Centre will be recognised internationally as a leading centre in palliative care education and research and will have the funding to support this vision.
Research
Research programs at the Centre are designed to improve outcomes for both patients needing palliative care and their family caregivers. Investigations are carried out through strategic partnerships with clinicians, academics, service providers and government entities across Victoria, Australia and internationally.
Current research programs include symptom management, psycho-social care, service delivery evaluation, clinical drug trials and family caregiver support.
Education
The Centre has a strong commitment to developing, delivering and evaluating education programs that are targeted at health professionals who wish to further their knowledge and skills in palliative care.
Postgraduate options include the Specialist Certificate in Palliative Care, which is accredited with the University of Melbourne and which aims to become the industry standard for health professionals across all disciplines who are working in services providing palliative care.
Short courses and seminars cover a range of topics such as pain and symptom management, therapeutic communication, ethics, bereavement support and psycho-social care.
Programs also target the education and professional development needs of specific sectors of the health care workforce. These include the development, support and mentorship of palliative care nurse practitioner candidates via the Victorian Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Collaborative, funded by the Department of Health, and the Victorian Palliative Medicine Training Program, which provides a structured, specialist training and internship program for doctors.
Organisation brochure PDF download
