Education and training in end-of-life care for health professionals is critical to support palliative care access and early conversations about meaningful end-of-life choices. A call for improved education has been clearly articulated in recent state parliamentary joint select committee documents to address knowledge gaps for health professionals. Unprecedented time pressures and increased demands, in addition to discipline-specific continuous professional development requirements add to the complexity.

To identify and implement a framework to support the delivery of targeted end of life and palliative care education to health professionals.

Building on initial stakeholder consultations, a desktop audit of existing resources was undertaken, followed by a sector wide survey of health professionals to explore knowledge of available resources, current education practices and identify gaps. 

The framework was developed in response to these findings and piloted in 31 sites. Feedback from the pilot informed the revision of the framework which was launched as an e-document in early 2022. Partnering with Flinders University enabled the development of a matrix based on the framework to support an interactive pathway to education options held within the CareSearch portal.

The clear need for a connected learning pathway to assist individuals to identify their learning needs and accommodate professional groups and specific learning items was met by the implementation of the framework. Collaborating with CareSearch led to a digital solution allowing direct navigation to access existing resources. It also provides value for money by building on existing resources and working across jurisdictions.

Developing an information portal that connects learning needs to relevant resources and aligns with the framework provides a more time efficient and outcome focussed approach to meeting the educational needs of health professionals. CareSearch also provides an agile environment that can be responsive to the changing workforce and professional development landscape.