17.-20. 5. 2026

Modules: 

M01: What is Pediatric Palliative Care and Why Does it Matter: Palliative Care Overview 

• Define PPC as a set of tasks  

• Identify predictable opportunities for palliative care intervention at different stages of disease 

• Describe when and how to utilize a subspecialty palliative care team 

• Evaluate myths and assumptions about PPC 

M02: Child Development 

• Learn typical phases of cognitive, psychosocial and spiritual growth  

• Learn how children of different developmental capacity understand concepts of illness and death and how this can impact care planning  

• Learn interventions that can be utilized when working with children of diverse ages along the illness continuum and at end of life 

M03: Family Centered Care 

• Define Family-Centered Care (FCC) 

• Learn the four key principles in FCC 

• Describe strategies for delivering effective FCC in pediatric palliative care 

• Understand and reduce barriers to the delivery of FCC 

M04: Grief and Bereavement 

• Review theories of grief  

• Assess grief in children  

• Use developmentally based strategies to address grief  

• Discuss grief related to the loss of a child and strategies to address family grief 

M05: Self Care for Professionals 

• Understand how self-care is a core competency in palliative and end of life care  

• Recognize what triggers stress and burnout  

• Develop a self-care plan that reduces stress and fosters personal growth and well-being 

M06: Team Collaboration and Effectiveness 

• Identify the conceptual basis for teamwork in palliative care  

• Describe different types of teams in palliative care 

• Name specific advantages and challenges of teamwork 

M07: Communication and Planning; “SPIKES” and “NURSE”: Sharing difficult news and reacting to emotions 

• Describe the 6 steps of the SPIKES model for giving bad news  

• Detail reasons for communicating prognosis  

• Learn methods for communicating prognosis  

• Understand ways to elicit goals of care and to discuss advanced care planning 

M08: Ethical & Legal Issues 

• Place ethics in pediatric palliative care  

• Clarify role of parents as surrogate decision makers  

• Describe basic tenets of pediatric end-of-life care 

M10: Multimodal Analgesia & Opioid Prescribing Workshop 

• Review assumptions about opioid use in children  

• Evaluate the 4 WHO-Principles of acute pediatric pain management  

• Discuss the concept of Multimodal Analgesia  

• Calculate morphine requirements for a child in severe pain 

M11: Opioid Selection and Opioid Rotation 

• Review opioids commonly used in pediatric palliative care (incl. pharmacology, routes of administration, common adverse effects) 

• Review opioids not recommended for pediatric use  

• Practice opioid rotation in a case example 

M12: Neuropathic Pain Management and Adjuvant Analgesia 

• Appreciate the high prevalence of neuropathic pain in pediatric palliative care  

• Define neuropathic pain and describe main causes in pediatric patients  

• Develop a step-by-step treatment approach for neuropathic pain, including pharmacologic (opioids, non-opioids, adjuvants), procedural and integrative medicine approaches 

M13: Procedural Pain Management Strategies 

• Describe the evidence for the importance of managing procedural pain  

• Review the 4 essential pain management strategies for needle procedures  

• Identify pharmacologic agents including dose, route of administration, monitoring, and adverse effects  

• Identify behavioral and integrative strategies that facilitate coping with procedures 

M14: Chronic Complex Pain 

• Discuss the prevalence of chronic pain and underlying pathophysiology in children  

• Appreciate that different chronic pain syndromes are often considered manifestations of an underlying vulnerability rather than separate disorder  

• Review the limited role for pharmacotherapy in children with chronic pain (Opioids are usually not indicated!)  

• Stress the importance of a rehabilitative, interprofessional team approach in managing chronic pain  

• Discuss management of children who have both acute pain, such as vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle-cell disease, and chronic daily musculoskeletal pain 

M15: Management of Gastrointestinal Symptoms 

• State the spectrum and impact of gastrointestinal symptoms  

• Recognize pathophysiology involved in nausea and vomiting, and learn to prescribe appropriate antiemetic therapy  

• Diagnose and treat diarrhea and constipation  

• Explain the diagnosis and treatment of anorexia-cachexia syndrome  

• Discuss weight changes and loss of appetite with caregivers 

M16: Management of Respiratory Symptoms 

• Appreciate the high prevalence of dyspnea, excess respiratory secretions and cough in pediatric palliative care and often inadequate treatment by clinicians  

• Discuss pathophysiology of common respiratory symptom in pediatric palliative care  

• Describe the role of opioids as a first-line agent in dyspnea  

• Develop a step-by-step approach in managing dyspnea and other respiratory symptoms 

M17: Management of Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms 

• Describe approaches to emotional and behavioral aspects of palliative care  

• Discuss “phenotypes” of psychological and behavioral pathology in seriously ill children  

• Review the assessment and potential treatments for each phenotype  

• Identify thresholds for referral to mental health clinicians 

M18: Management of Neurological Symptoms 

• Review neurological complications of children with serious illnesses, including advanced pediatric hematology/oncology conditions, and treatment strategies  

• Identify causes of pain behaviors in children with neurological impairment 

• Develop step-by-step approach to manage distressing neurological symptoms in pediatric palliative care 

M19: Management of Refractory Distress 

• Describe persistent myths about palliative sedation  

• Explain the circumstances under which palliative sedation may be indicated  

• Describe recommended dosing for palliative sedation in children 

• Review the potential alternatives to palliative sedation 

M20: Caring for the Imminently Dying Child and Their Family 

• Define the end-of-life period  

• Describe the tasks necessary for managing pain and distress at end of life  

• Identify important issues that require careful communication and planning  

• Describe the essential components of good care at the very end of life 

M21: Integrative Medicine & Magic Glove 

• Describe how integrative medicine strategies can enhance care for children with life-threatening conditions.  

• Practice a relaxation and mental imagery (RMI) exercise.  

• Review importance of safe and effective integrative medicine modalities to improve pain and symptom management as well as quality of life for seriously ill children 

M24: Methadone: Taming the Shrew 

• Review advantages and disadvantages of methadone use  

• Evaluate potential adverse effects of methadone  

• Explain difference of half-life compared to other opioids  

• Practice opioid rotation to methadone 

M25: Addressing Hope at Times of Clinical Uncertainty: The Goals of care discussion as a fundamental PPC intervention

Key Teaching Modalities 

• Interactive Lecture 

• Role Play 

• Case Study