Initiation of Palliative Unit Development in Indonesia – WCP Program at School of Nursing
FK-KMK UGM. According to WHO, palliative nursing is an approach can lead to an improvement healthier lifestyle of patients and their families who face problems related to life-threatening diseases. These efforts are implemented in the form of preventive and eliminated measures through early identification and orderly assessment in handling of pain and other problems of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual. At this stage, the hospital acts as a place for palliative care, especially for patients who must get a strict supervision, special measures, or special equipment.
On August 30, 2018, Head of Department of Surgical Medical Nursing Dr. Christantie Effendy, S.Kp, M.Kes opened the ‘Workshop on Developing A Palliative Team in Hospital and University’ at the Santika Hotel, Yogyakarta. This event is a series of the World Class Professor program of Prof. Wen-Yu Hu from National Taiwan University attended by representatives of the RSUP palliative team of Dr. Sardjito, UGM Academic Hospital, and representatives of each nursing division in FK-KMK UGM.
World Class Professor program (WCP) is sponsored by the Ministry of RISTEKDIKTI that obliged Indonesian scientists to collaborate with their international strategic partner. Spesifically, this event aimed at developing palliative nursing at FK-KMK UGM and its affiliated hospitals. Prof. Wen-Yu Hu from National Taiwan University is a right choice, as palliative nursing in Taiwan has been advanced. Moreover, a culture between Taiwan and Indonesia is rather similar in order to consider an initiative of Palliative Unit Development in Yogyakarta.
Workshop is started with a lecture entitled ‘How to starting a palliative team in hospital and university: Lesson learned from Taiwan’. In her presentation, Prof. Wen-Yu Hu shared some inspirations from finding the best location for setting up a palliative unit at hospital; selecting an ear-catching name of unit; communicating with colleague from multidisciplinary of science; until appointing a good leader as a main role in driving the palliative unit. A fruitful discussion about the development of palliative unit from time to time from all perspectives of institutions’ participants arose during workshop within topic of SWOT analysis and action plan formulation in developing palliative unit.
Palliative nursing is a holistic approach to help patients in solving their problems related to physical and psychosocial, not to speed up or delay their death. Palliative care will focus on educate patients to raise their awareness and their families’ awareness as well as to carefully listen up what their complaints; their pains and to support them stimulating their spirit to more contribute in their end of life. “Take care of the last minute,” concluded Prof. Wen-Yu Hu when closing her presentation.
In addition, WCP is addressed to yield publications, which is recognized by Scopus indexed international journals, or Thomson Reuters and others at the same indexed level. Besides the palliative nursing topic, FK-KMK UGM presents WCP program focuses on health insurance; bioethics and health anthropology. Those all run simultaneously for the period of May till November 2018. As a prestigious program, it is aimed at leveraging the competence of young researchers in education and publication. “We highly expect through WCP, it can be published one paper that become joint responsibility of all departments who submitted WCP program,” explained dr. Nur Azid Mahardinata as one of the WCP receiver grants. (Fildzah/Reporter_interpreted by \sari)