HOSPICE NEWS

At the invitation of the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium and the City of Hope, we attended a one-week training at the end of April 2019 at the American Austrian Foundation's Arenberg Training Center in Salzburg. The organizers, that are committed to the development of palliative care in Eastern European countries, have organized a comprehensive palliative training based on the sharing of international experiences involving Albania, Bulgaria, Armenia, Romania, Mexico and Hungary, the topics included pain management, symptom management and nursing care at the end of life. Ethics, culture, communication and management were also discussed. Our internationally renowned instructors from the United States gave us new impetus by sharing their knowledge, inspiring and supportive attitude, and forged us a dedicated team.

Hungary was represented by Miklós Lukács and Judit Schaffer, the President and Vice-President of the Hungarian Hospice-Palliative Association, Nóra Ferdinandy, the Head of the Children’s Hospice Division of the Hungarian Hospice Foundation, Judit Hegedűs, the Head Nurse of the Tabitha Children’s Hospice House, Mrs. Mónika Kerkai, the Head of the Mónika-M Health Care Provider, Annamária Karamánné Pakai and László Szabó, the lecturers of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Pécs and Csaba Volenszki, the member of the Pécs Oncotherapy Institute.

The aim of the training was not only to transfer new knowledge, but also to create a palliative development plan and strategy tailored to our country.

Our team created two working groups that will work on developing professional guidelines and education and research in the coming year. One of our working groups will update the existing National Palliative Guideline in the cultural and spiritual aspects of care and is planning to prepare our old debt, the Guideline of Palliative care for Children, while the other one is planning to deepen and update the knowledge level by analyzing the palliative care system of secondary and higher level education and postgraduate education.

Besides the tight-paced education and planning, we were able to take time to enjoy the picturesque sights of Salzburg, the small town at the foot of the snowy peaks of the Alps, the hometown of Mozart, the culinary delights of Sacher cake and Mozartkugel, which, like the great composer, captivated thousands of fans from all over the world. Thanks to our hosts we were able to participate in a chamber music concert presented by the outstanding artists of the Mozart Academy of Music, and our international instructor diplomas were awarded at a closing ceremony with a banquet.

We will work to realize our plans and with our acquired knowledge and our strengthened international relations we will serve the community of hospice services in Hungary, improve Hungarian palliative care and the quality of life for our patients at the end of their lives.