Overall Goal: To train attendees on best-practices around communication in African oncology settings
IPOS has developed, in close partnership with our colleagues in Africa and in collaboration with AORTIC, an Academy on the theme of Optimizing Communication in African Oncology Settings. The goal of this Academy is to train attendees on evidence-based practices around communication to reduce suffering and social stigma as main barriers to early detection and treatment of cancer in African oncology settings. The Academy will use a combination of didactic seminars and roundtable discussions, in which participants will be encouraged to discuss knowledge translation as it relates to public policy, research, clinical, and training, as well as outline needs for collaboration in these areas (see preliminary program below).
Scholarships will be provided to key health care professionals working in direct contact with cancer patients in Africa, to attend the 2019 IPOS Academy in Maputo, Mozambique. The number of scholarships will depend on funding. Scholarships will cover costs of training, flight, hotel, and meals up to a certain amount. Kindly complete the scholarship application, which will be peer-reviewed.
Our Organization:
IPOS is the sole multidisciplinary international charitable organization devoted to psycho-oncology, leading in education, research, training, public policy, and advocacy. In 2014, IPOS celebrated its 30th anniversary and began a partnership with the World Health Organization. Part of our mandate is to build capacity for cancer care in low- and low-middle income countries including in Africa. IPOS includes 75+ member countries from 6 continents.
Full eligibility criteria for the Travel Scholarship application (please note that all criteria must be met):
- Be a professional working in direct contact with cancer patients in Africa;
- Conduct clinical work in a field appropriate to the field of psycho-oncology (e.g., physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapist);
- Be fluent in oral English. Note: According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “when a person is fluent, they can speak a language easily, well, and quickly.”
- Be eligible to obtain a Visa from Mozambique if a Visa is required.
- Commit to attend the two-day Academy on November 3-4, 2019 if selected to obtain a Scholarship;
- Commit to sharing the knowledge learned through the Academy to professionals in your city and country in Africa;
- Willing to share a hotel room in double occupancy during the Academy (with same sex pairing);
- Assume responsibility for your safety and physical health during your travels to and from the Academy as well as during the Academy;
- Should you receive a scholarship you will be asked to arrange your own travel to Maputo and will have expenses for meals, for which you will subsequently be reimbursed up to a certain predetermined amount upon presentation of detailed and itemized receipts. Hotel arrangements will be provided by IPOS and cannot be changed. As per previous IPOS Academies, it may take several weeks before you will be able to be reimbursed for expenses and reimbursement will only be allowed for certain items and for a maximum allocated per item.
Note: It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the application is complete. Incomplete applications or handwritten applications will be automatically withdrawn from the contest without notice. Applications will only be accepted if they are received at your earliest convenience before June 28, 2019 to the following email address: [email protected]. Applications must include the fully completed Application Form including the checklist and a five-page Curriculum Vitae for the applicant.
Note: Please send any questions you may have about this call for applications to the following email address: [email protected]. IPOS will only be able to answer any questions related to this call for applications from June 3, 2018 to June 14, 2019, after which IPOS will no longer be able to answer. After the June 28, 2019 deadline, the only correspondence the applicants will receive is the result of the competition. Participants should anticipate receiving the results by the first week of August. If you have not received a response, please check the IPOS website to know if there has been a delay in the processing of the applications. If you have not received a letter of offer by the first week of August, unless otherwise indicated on the IPOS website, it means that you were not selected for the scholarship.
HOW TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION?
When saving your complete application, please save it with your country and complete name including your last name and surname separated by underscore. For example: Nigeria_Henry_Ann.
Please email your Scholarship Application Form completed via computer or typewriter, including the check list below, and a current copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English no later than June 28, 2019 to the following email: [email protected]. PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICATIONS WITHOUT A 5-PAGE CV WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
All applications must include a fully completed and signed Applicant Waiver Form. Incomplete waiver forms will result in your applicant being rejected.
IPOS Academy – Maputo, Mozambique
IPOS holds non-state actor status with the World Health Organization (WHO)
Theme: Optimizing Doctor-Patient Communication in African Oncology Settings
Overall Goal: Train attendees on evidence-based practices around communication to reduce suffering and social stigma as main barriers to early detection and treatment of cancer in African oncology settings.
Methods: The Academy will use a combination of didactic seminars and roundtable discussions, in which participants will be encouraged to discuss knowledge translation of communication skills as it relates to public policy, research, clinical, and training, as well as outline needs for collaboration in these areas.
Day 1:
Opening Comments from Co-Chairs Dr. Melissa Henry and Dr. Chioma Asuzu and distinguished representatives
Importance of communication and screening for distress
- a. Improving cancer outcomes in Africa through communication skills and strategies (Dr. Chioma Asuzu)
- b. Screening for distress as an essential tool to communication (Drs. Melissa Henry)
- c. Review of conceptual models of doctor-patient communication and the shared-decision making model (Dr. Elizabeth Akin-Odanye, Nigeria; Dr. Joyce Terwase, Nigeria)
Barriers around communicating bad news to patients and families in African oncology settings: Results of a World Café and pan-African survey indicating similarities with barriers to prevention and the need for concerted strategic planning (Dr. Melissa Henry, Montreal, Canada; Dr. David Lounsbury, New York, USA)
Morning Break
A family-systems approach to communication and how to communicate with children in an age-appropriate way (Dr. Chioma Asuzu, Nigeria; Dr. Luzia Travado, Lisbon, Portugal)
The importance of family-centered communication in the context of African medical oncology practice: A palliative care physician’s perspective (Dr. Christian Ntizimira, Kigali, Rwanda)
LUNCH
Evidenced-based strategies to address beliefs/stigma: A literature review and model
Round table discussion – World Café discussion on addressing knowledge, beliefs, and stigma to reduce delayed presentation and treatment onset in Africa. Goal: Initiate a discussion on structural and public health changes required in Africa and the role of IPOS and Association of Psycho-Oncology in Africa (APOA) (Drs. Scott and Sharon Nichols, California, USA; Phillip Odiyo, Kenya; Dr. Chioma Asuzu, Nigeria; Dr. Melissa Henry, Canada).
Closing remarks for Day 1
Day 2: Doctor-Patient Communication Skills Training Day – featuring Dr. Patricia Parker and Dr. Smita Banerjee, Communication Skills Training and Research Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York; and Dr. Luzia Travado, Champalimaud Clinical Center, Lisbon, Portugal
Overview:
Effective communication is essential for the optimal delivery of healthcare services. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has developed an evidence-based, robust program in communication skills training with a mission “to work in partnership with clinicians of all disciplines to improve communication with cancer patients and their families, and thus enhance overall adaptation to the illness.” The overall objective of the Communication Skills Training and Research Laboratory is to develop, evaluate and disseminate communication skills interventions (The Comskil Training Program) for health care professionals and patients to communicate more effectively. The Comskil Training Program provides a unique training opportunity with a dedicated staff of communication skills facilitators, standardized patient actors, and customized laboratory space including training rooms equipped with video recording and playback equipment. Training modules have been developed to address high priority communication challenges in the oncology setting such as Shared Decision Making, Introducing Palliative Care, and Discussing End-of-Life Goals of Care. The training program relies on a multidisciplinary approach to the delivery of communication skills training, with more than 90 trained facilitators at the institution. The Comskil Training Program is taught to oncology attending physicians, fellows, residents, nurses and nurse practitioners. Since the inception of the Comskil training program in 2005, more than 4,000 oncology health care providers have participated in this program.
Opening Comments from Co-Chairs Dr. Melissa Henry and Dr. Chioma Asuzu
Introduction to the Comskil Conceptual Model
Shared Decision Making (SDM) Didactic
SDM Fishbowl/Role Play
Break
Responding to Patient Anger Didactic
Lunch
Responding to Patient Anger Fishbowl/Role Play
Break
Discussing Death, Dying and End of Life Goals of Care Didactic – In Africa 80% of cancers are diagnosed in advanced stage
Discussing Death, Dying and End of Life Goals of Care Fishbowl/Role Play
Debrief and Discussion.
Closing remarks for Day 2 (speaker)
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