Students

The Palliative Care Institute provides community service and internship opportunities to meet the growing demand for interdisciplinary education and training related to care for those with serious illness or facing end of life.

PCI provides opportunities for Western students and faculty to participate in

• Action research related to the development of a palliative community of excellence,
• Community based service learning for students interested in careers in health related fields,
• Learning opportunities for those in the arts and humanities to bring the languages and practices of their own disciplines to bear on these complex social issues,
• Development of a resource of conference proceedings and research reports available to the public through the Western Library's CEDAR program,
• Development of WhatcomCare a community based website of resources.

Although the Palliative Care Institute does not have a formal internship program, internships are available on an individual basis. Contact the Director, Devyani Chandran to explore possibilities. For example, in the past students have worked on translating our brochure into Spanish and outreach activities to the Spanish speaking community in Whatcom County. Other students have worked on background research about palliative and end of life care or have written pieces for the website.

Students are always welcome at any of the community events, and participation in the Palliative Care annual conference can be arranged for credit in advance. Scholarships for this conference are also often available.

We will begin offering a Palliative Care minor Fall of 2020.

Contact the Director, Devyani Chandran, for more information

As the population of the US ages, skills in palliative care will increasingly be important in many career paths. The Palliative Care Institute is collaborating with other departments and programs on campus on the development of a cross-disciplinary minor in palliative and end of life care open to all Western students

A number of faculty also offer courses related to this field of study.