The Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh (RCPE) organised a Palliative Care Symposium through tele-conference. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) was the only institution in Pakistan to have this facility.
The organising committee from RCPE had put together a varied programme covering some of the common, yet often more complex aspects, of general palliative care. The symposium included all of the common challenges in palliative care with internationally recognised speakers who gave practical advice. Topics covered management of symptoms like breathlessness in non-cancer palliative care setting, cancer cachexia and pain control as well as issues dealing with paediatric palliative care, one of the participants of the event said.
The symposium was well attended by consultants and trainees from SKMCH as well as delegates from outside. The event was accredited by the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME) for a maximum of 8 hours in the Category 1 credit of the AACME Designation and SKMCH & RC is the only institution in this part of the world to have accreditation from AACME as a CME provider for health care professionals.