More than a total of 125,000 patients need palliative care annually, a situation that requires 1,500 physicians with specific training in the field, according to the latest data from scientific groups. 70% of patients with terminal cancer and 30% of patients who die from non-cancer diseases require specialist palliative care.

Thus, the Hospital Centro de Cuidados LAGUNA, in collaboration with the Vianorte-Laguna Foundation and the ATLANTES program at the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, jointly organized two courses aimed at training teachers so that hospitals are able to meet the needs of patients and their families. The first was a basic course, which won the Award for Humanization of Health awarded by the Madrid College of Physicians in 2013 and is now in its fourth edition; the second was the first edition of an advanced course, which was held in Spain for the first time at the request of participants in previous editions of the basic course.

The courses were carried out in collaboration with the Grünenthal Spain Foundation and they follow a nearly 20-year European tradition. The courses have been successfully taught to students from over 20 nationalities and in 10 different countries.

The conference organizers stressed the need for health professionals to have specific training and noted, "With this initiative, we aim to promote and disseminate the training of experts who can teach this discipline, providing the best care at the end of life. Palliative care manages to alleviate patients' suffering in 100% of cases since with refractory, uncontrollable symptoms, there are therapeutic tools that, in the hands of a specialist, are always effective."

The First Edition of the Advanced Teacher Training Course in Palliative Care sponsored by the Vianorte-Laguna Foundation and the ATLANTES Program at the ICS, UNAV, taught by Dr. Gustavo De Simone, Dr. Ruthmarijke Smeding, Dr. Carlos Centeno and Dr. Antonio Noguera Tejedor.

Among the participants, we were delighted to see the familiar faces of peers, such as Dr. Julio Gomez, Dr. Juan Pablo Leiva and Dr. Josep Porta, among many others. In a few days, the Center for Teaching and Research at the Vianorte-Laguna Foundation will host the fourth edition of the Basic Course.

Internationally renowned experts

Both courses are imparted by international experts, such as Dr. Ruthmarijke Smeding, who is the course director and senior trainer at the University of Liverpool and the Institute for Clinical Teaching of Palliative Care in Rotterdam, and Dr. Gustavo de Simone, President of the Argentine Association of Medicine and Palliative Care, Program Coordinator for Palliative Care of Buenos Aires and Medical Director of Pallium, a center with international recognition.

The teaching staff was completed by Dr. Carlos Centeno— director of the ICS ATLANTES Program, director of the Palliative Care Unit at the University of Navarra Hospital, professor in the School of Medicine and director of the working group "The Development of Palliative Care in Europe" within the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC)— as well as by Dr. Antonio Noguera Tejedor, deputy medical director of the Hospital Centro de Cuidados LAGUNA and professor of Palliative Medicine at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Organizers

The Vianorte-Laguna Foundation is a nonprofit organization that cares for and attends to older people with Alzheimer's or who are suffering from an advanced disease and need assistance. In order to ensure the best care for those in need, the Foundation has launched a Comprehensive Care Program for Patients with Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, from early diagnosis and treatment to advanced stages, as well as a training and research center for professionals, caregivers and volunteers. It has also started a pioneer hospital specifically dedicated to palliative care. Today it also offers home care teams to perform checkups and patient care at home, an outpatient service unit and the first pediatric day center for advanced disease in Spain.

The Institute for Culture and Society is the University of Navarra's humanities and social sciences research center. It is characterized by academic rigor, interdisciplinarity, and the international and social impact of the topics it addresses. The ATLANTES Program is one of its eight research projects and it aims to promote, in society and in medicine, a positive mindset in relation to caring for patients with advanced, terminal diseases from a vision based on the dignity of the person and professional care, including support for patients and respect for the natural course of a disease and care for patients' emotional and spiritual dimension.