Principles of Palliative Care Training Course (ACP module)

Palliative care is a vital skill for generalists working in a range of healthcare settings. By taking this module you will be introduced to the clinical, ethical, legal and policy issues that arise in managing patients with severe health-related suffering including those at the end of life.

The module is part of the Advanced Clinical Practice MSc, and can also be taken as a stand-alone module.

Who is it for?

This course is aimed at health professionals who work with patients requiring palliative support, including those at the end of life, in generalist settings. This might include (but is not limited to) paramedics, nurses and allied health professionals working in pre-hospital, primary or community care, ICU, rehabilitation, geriatrics and frailty.

Timetable

The course is taught over six weeks, with two further weeks for formative and summative assessments. It will next run on Tuesdays in March and April 2026.

Benefits

Delivery will combine lectures from a multidisciplinary team of experts, discussion seminars, interactive workshops, case-based discussions and simulations with professional actors.

Teaching will cover symptom control, communication skills, advanced care planning as well as ethical and legal issues in palliative care. There will be a chance to reflect on the existential dimensions of facing the end of life and caring for those doing so.

This short course module is designed to be flexible in allowing you to study and reach your goals at your own pace. Our health CPD courses are credit-bearing modules that may contribute to a University degree or award.

Transfer course credits towards postgraduate taught degree

As a health care professional, once you've completed this course you could offset 15 credits as part of a postgraduate programme, continuing your study with further modules to make up a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) 60 credits.

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Assess and formulate a basic management plan for patients facing symptoms commonly addressed within palliative care such as pain, breathlessness, constipation, nausea and vomiting
• Initiate advance care planning conversations and understand where/when/how to appropriately do so
• Engage with the ethical and legal challenges of managing people at the end of life and reflect on the historical/policy developments within the field that have sought to address them.

Teaching will give practitioners the knowledge, skills and capabilities to make key clinical decisions through effective assessment, diagnosis and management. Throughout the module you will develop communication skills and be supported to critically engage with relevant research to underpin evidence-based practice.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

If applying for this module, you MUST state the Module Title and Course Code in the personal statement tab. Without this we will be unaware of what module you are applying for and will delay your application decision.

You must be a registered healthcare professionals from any discipline with at least 2 years experience. You should have experience of working with patients facing severe health-related suffering and/or those at the end of life, plus evidence of academic study at level 6 or above.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at pec@sgul.ac.uk.

Qualification requirements

To apply for this course, you will need to provide evidence that you have previous academic study suited to Level 7/MSc study. Please provide evidence of one of the following in your application:

• MSc – ideally in a healthcare related subject

• PgCert or 60 free-standing level 7 credits

• BSc(Hons) 2:2 or above – ideally in a healthcare related subject

• BSc with evidence of 30 credits + at Level 6 graded B grade or above

• DipHE with evidence of 30 credits + at Level 6 graded B grade or above

English requirements

If English is not your first language, you will require one of the following:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City St George's, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.

Full details can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.