Clinical Aspects of Hospice and Palliative Care

Degree Offered

Postbaccalaureate Certificate

Program Description

Clinical Aspects of Hospice and Palliative Care is a 12-credit, online postbaccalaureate graduate certificate program designed to provide learners with experiences designed to foster a deeper knowledge and understanding of the numerous clinical issues in advanced illness. Specifically, participants learn to perform an advanced assessment of a pain complaint (history, physical exam, diagnostics/imaging as necessary) and to demonstrate advanced and in-depth knowledge of the pathogenesis of pain. Participants also acquire in-depth knowledge of evidence-based non-pharmacologic management of pain, and evidence-based advanced pharmacology (including drug therapy selection, dosing, monitoring, and titration), designed to meet patient-centric therapeutic goals. Participants also develop advanced skills used to manage special populations with advanced illness including pediatrics, geriatrics, palliative care emergencies, advanced assessment, and management skills to facilitate withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments, and manage the days before death.

Clinical Aspects of Hospice and Palliative Care is also a concentration of study within the Master of Science in Palliative Care (PALC-MS) program. Credits earned in the stand-alone certificate program may be applied toward the PALC-MS degree requirements.

Program Admission

The target learner audience includes practitioners who are working in hospice and palliative care or aspire to do so, including physicians, advance practice nurses, nurses, pharmacists, and physician assistants.

Candidates for admission must meet the minimum standards of admission established by the Graduate School and provide the requisite credentials. Admission to the certificate program is highly selective. A U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a non-U.S. educational institution is required. No specific undergraduate course of study is required or recommended. Graduate Record Examinations are not required for admission.

Degree Requirements

Certificate candidates must complete a minimum of 12 credits. Students must maintain a minimum, cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. All courses must be taken for letter grade; courses taken as Pass/Fail (P/F) or Audit (AU) do not count toward the certificate. All requirements for the certificate must be completed within three years after admission and all credits for the certificate must be completed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Complete guideline and requirements for progression and completion are outlined in the Academic Performance and Progress in a Postbaccalaureate Certificate Program section of this catalog.

Required Courses