CME Day 2025 – November 28, 2025. Registration Is Now Open!

📢 Registration Now Open for CME Day 2025!

We’re excited to invite you to this year’s Division of Palliative Care CME Day — When Organs and Spirits Falter: Palliative Care beyond Cancer.

As always, our program is designed to engage both generalists and specialist palliative care practitioners. This year’s focus is on non-cancer diagnoses, which present unique challenges in a healthcare landscape where research and practice often center around cancer care.

Expect expert insights on:

Cardiac and neurological disease in palliative care
Existential and spiritual distress
Practical tips for prescribing methadone
Strategies for managing palliative emergencies

📅 Date: Friday, November 28, 2025
📍 Location: Virtual only

💻 Can’t join us live?
All lectures will be recorded and available to watch on demand for up to 3 months after the event.

🗓 CME Day 2025 Agenda (Pacific Time)

Friday, November 28, 2025

Time (PT)	Presentation	Speaker
8:15 am	Welcome & Opening Remarks	Dr. Adam Fowler
8:30 am	Heart Matters in Palliative Care: Cardiology Essentials for Primary Care Describe the integration of palliative care in end-stage heart disease Discuss a practical approach to the management of end stage heart failure including volume overload and palliative inotropes Outline a structured approach to the discontinuation of guideline-directed medical therapy Describe models of collaborative care to support patients with end stage heart disease and their caregivers within their community	Dr. Caroline McGuinty
9:30 am	Concurrent Sessions (choose one below):
	a) Palliative Approach in Movement Disorders Provide an overview of common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease Review common end-of-life complications of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, including goals of care discussion, MAiD, and symptom control	Dr. Jonathan Squires
	b) Managing Palliative Emergencies Recognize the clinical presentations and urgent red-flag features of spinal cord compression, pain crisis, and malignant bowel obstruction in palliative care patients Outline evidence-based initial management strategies for each of these emergencies, balancing disease-directed and symptom-focused approaches Demonstrate an approach to rapid assessment and symptom control in patients presenting with these palliative care emergencies	Dr. Kirstin Moritz Dr. Alex Dragoman Dr. Marina Liu Dr. Imelda Suen
10:30 am	Stretch Break
10:40 am	Spiritual Care – Relevance and Integration within Palliative Care Practice: A Clinician’s Guide Identify the relevance and value of spiritual care support Address the various manifestations of spiritual distress Identify the importance of deep listening for making assessments and providing spiritual care options and interventions	Dr. Philip Crowell
11:40 am	Methadone for Pain: A Core Clinical Competency Recognize the clinical contexts where methadone has advantages over other opioids for pain management Know how to safely initiate and titrate methadone to effectiveness Be aware of the potential side-effects and contraindications to methadone therapy	Dr. Pippa Hawley
12:40 pm	Lunch Break
1:20 pm	Beyond the Physical: Addressing Existential Distress at End of Life Identify thoughts and feelings commonly associated with existential distress Know the names of formal scales used to measure existential distress Identify at least two manualized psychotherapy modalities used to assist people with existential distress	Dr. Alan Bates
2:20 pm	The Intersection of Symptom Control and Wound Care in Palliative Practice Differentiate common wound types in palliative and hospice settings and understand their clinical implications Evaluate wound care products for effectiveness, limitations, and appropriateness in end-of-life care Integrate practical wound assessment strategies to guide management and support nursing teams in optimizing patient comfort at end-of-life	Lauren Wolfe
3:20 pm	Closing Remarks	Dr. Adam Fowler
3:30 pm	Conference Ends

➡️ Register now to secure your spot for this year’s event!