Rural Rounds: Why am I SO short of breath? Dyspnea Management in End-of-Life Care
Dyspnea is a common experience at the end of life that is often distressing to both patients and their families. This session will explore the causes of dyspnea and effective management using pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, as well as when to consider palliative sedation. The importance of serious illness conversations in supporting person-centered care at the end of life will also be discussed.
Rural Rounds presentations are tailored specifically for the unique practice context of rural health professionals. Sessions feature relevant topics, exemplative case studies and an opportunity to connect with fellow learners. If you practice in or support rural communities in British Columbia, we would love to have you join the Rural Rounds community!
Format: Rural Rounds sessions are delivered via Zoom in a webinar-style format. Speaker(s), moderator and presentation slides will be visible on screen, and learners can submit questions using the Zoom chat function.
Rural Provider Social Time: Grab your coffee and join the session link at 7:45 a.m. PT to connect with fellow rural health professionals before the presentation. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself, chat, and build community before we begin!
Can't Join Live? The webinar will be recorded and the link will be shared with registrants to watch on-demand after the event.
This session will be led by Dr. Sarah Broder and moderated by Dr. Gordon Horner.
Dr. Sarah Broder has been practicing in Penticton since 1997. She is a Respirologist who also did ICU/GIM and was Chief of Medicine at Penticton Regional Hospital for a total of 10 years. Since 2020, Dr. Broder has been the IH Senior Medical Director for Palliative Care and End of Life Services. She sits on multiple Provincial Committees including: operational and oversight for MAID, and advising on Palliative Care. She passionately believes in the importance of regularly reviewing what matters most to patients as time progresses (and especially as medical diagnoses accumulate) so that goal concordant care is received.
Dr. Gordon Horner has been a rural family physician on Haida Gwaii since 2000 and is currently the Chief of Staff for Xaayda Gwaay Ngaaysdll Naay/Haida Gwaii Hospital.
Rural Rounds Learning Objectives
- Discuss up-to-date rurally relevant medical education to rural health professionals across British Columbia, especially family physicians and specialists
- Demonstrate a team-based and multidisciplinary approach to rural medicine through a series of didactic and interactive presentations
- Review cases and medical approaches from rural communities, specifically tailored to the unique circumstances of rural health professionals
Session Learning Objectives
- Review the various mechanisms leading to dyspnea at end of life
- Recognize the importance of serious illness conversations in end of life care
- Identify methods of managing dyspnea at end of life: both pharmacological and non-pharmacological
- Identify when palliative sedation may be the right treatment for extreme dyspnea
This webinar is for the professional development of health professionals. As an accredited learning activity, this session is intended to provide an environment that is conducive to presenting complex information, asking questions and the sharing of personal experience among colleagues.
The content is tailored to a medical audience and is not intended as public health communication. Any reproduction of the session or provided materials in part or full requires the explicit approval of UBC CPD. Interest from media can be directed to media.relations@ubc.ca.
This project was developed and is operated by the UBC Faculty of Medicine's Division of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in partnership with the Rural Coordination Centre of BC. Funding for Rural Rounds was provided by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, a joint committee of the Doctors of BC and BC Ministry of Health.
The Division of Continuing Professional Development, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine (UBC CPD) is fully accredited by the Continuing Medical Education Accreditation Committee (CACME) to provide CPD credits for physicians. This activity meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by UBC CPD for up to 1.0 Mainpro+® Certified Activity credits. Each physician should claim only those credits accrued through participation in the activity.