Supplemental Tools for Use with The Pallium Palliative Pocketbook


AUTHOR NOTES FOR 2011 Second Printing of Pallium Palliative Pocketbook are available in PDF format for users of a First Printing version at no cost here.

Note: Some 8,000 books additional books were printed in May 2011 and are being used in at least 9 Canadian provinces by institutional and educational partners. One thousand (1,000 books) of that 8,000 have been made available for small order purchases through CHPCA Marketplace at www.chpca.net (Item 711E).

INDEX & ERRATA for PPP (ver 1.0) - An index has been prepared to support use of the Pallium Palliative Pocketbook. This index applies to the 10,000 units of the first printing released in September 2008. A copy of the combined Index and Notice of Errata can be downloaded at no cost here.

INTERACTIVE REFERENCE LIST - The Pocketbook contains 848 citations. Where there is an available PubMed citation, web-site or direct article access via a free text option, those have been identified, hyperlinked and listed for quick access in a companion PDF tool that can be accessed here.

ESAS, PPS & OTHER TOOLS - The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) appears in the Pocketbook appendix. The chart-size sample tool listed in the Pocketbook appendix and other assessment tools can be accessed here. The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS V2) in the Pocketbook appendix is supported by Victoria Hospice Society at a tool site that can be accessed here.

EXAMPLE STAFF ORIENTATION POWERPOINT (PDF only) - Colleagues in Newfoundland and Labrador are using the PPP to support local palliative service delivery capacity-building throughout the province. You can find an example of the powerpoint slide deck being used to support outreach orientation here.

OTHER POINT-OF-CARE RESOURCES - Other helpful point-of-care tools include the 99 common questions (and more) about Hospice Palliative Care: A nurses handbook. It is described in detail here and available here. Those working with family caregivers may find A caregiver guide: A handbook about end-of-life care a helpful tool for informing practical care needs. Ordering information is here.

ON-DEMAND TEAM BUILDING - Those seeking practical advice for working effectively with local physicians and family members in support of the seriously-ill and dying may wish to access a downloadable audio MP3 and PDF (written transcript) here.

SUPPORT & MUTUAL SUPPORT - Colleagues at the Canadian Virtual Hospice provide information and support and facilitate mutual support to persons who are experiencing serious-illness and dying. The CVH has a short, 7 minute video explaining their role in helping you, your team and clients. This video can be viewed via broadband/high speed internet (note: provided your institutional IT firewall policies do not block video access) on YouTube here.







GETTING STARTED - Those new to Hospice Palliative Care work may wish to review the Pallium Project instructional video segment Orienting ourselves for the Work (5:23 run time), accessible on YouTube here. You may also find Dying for care: Towards quality end-of-life care in Canada (17 min run time) helpful. Dying for care can be viewed online/downloaded here and a written transcript is here. There is also a very good short (3:08 min) video summary of contemporary palliative care (USA) accessible here.




If you have additional questions, concerns or insights please phone Michael Aherne at 1-888-475-4933.

Pallium Palliative Pocketbook available


The Pallium Palliative Pocketbook was released in September 2008. Ten thousand (10,000) copies of the first edition sold out in 18 months. A second printing of 8,000 Second Printing units was undertaken in 2010/11 using a co-operative purchasing arrangement among 29 partners in nine Canadian provinces. Small order/retail copies of the Pocketbook are available through the CHPCA Marketplace at a cost of $19.95 plus applicable taxes and S&H. A detailed resource description can be found here.

The Pallium Project welcomes feedback, including notices of erratum and specific information that can be useful for further development of the book. The Pocketbook has been mainly written as a practical, peer-reviewed and referenced resource to help generalist practitioners from medicine, nursing, pharmacy and related disciplines work together safely, ethically, effectively and more accountably (i.e., evidence-informed practice) in care of the seriously-ill and dying in community-based settings of care throughout Canada.

To this end, we encourage feedback via a form-fillable PDF feedback form that can be emailed, or a more traditional paper-based version (also in PDF format) which can be either faxed back or mailed to The Pallium Project.