Dr Fiona Rawlinson

Overview

Palliative and end of life care remains a global imperative. Developing innovative ways of supporting the needs of the ever changing workforce in palliative care education remains a top priority while keeping the patient at the heart of all medical education. 

I studied at Cambridge University, subsequently training as a GP, and retraining in Palliative Medicine to become a Consultant in 2004. My interest in effective and supportive teaching and training has been life long. As Course Tutor for the Cardiff Diploma in Palliative care between 1998-2006 I managed the course as it moved from paper to web based design and recorded over 30 podcasts on practical aspects of palliative care. I became Programme Director in 2015 and direct and develop a postgraduate portfolio of courses designed to cover a wide range of palliative and end of life care education needs in Wales and across the world.

The course team has developed a revised curriculum for the MSc and PgDip which reflects the changing needs of the multidisciplinary team delivering palliative care across all settings and in all countries. There is a thriving portfolio of short courses, including paediatric palliative care and community oncology and an ethos of collaboration – successful collaborations with organisations such as the RCGP, the children’s hospice in Wales- Ty Hafan and the renowned Oxford Palliative education and research centre, Sobell House.

Working with outside agencies, such as www.ecancer.org, I have developed open access modules for palliative care in Sub-Saharan Africa and with colleagues for India. These reflect a growing appreciation of the use of technology to deliver pallaitive care education creatively and effectively. I have supported palliative care education development in South Africa and through a thriving network of alumni, I am supporting the development of palliative care in Pakistan and in Russia and former soviet countries, working with the PACED foundation and linking with the European Association for Palliative Care.

I have held the position of  co-Training Programme Director for Wales  until December 2021 and I work clinically as a Consultant in Palliative medicine for City Hospice, Cardiff.

Key themes:

• developing the palliative and end of life care skills of the health and social care workforce
• communication, team working, mentoring and leadership
• using technology to enhance delivery of education
• delivering education that will make a difference to patient care