Dr Geoff Mitchell, General Practitioner: We're in a death denying society and people just don't want to think about it. But whether GPs think they're dealing with palliative care or not, they are.
Text on screen: Free palliative care education and training is available for all general practitioners.
Associate Professor Kim Devery, Training Provider, End of Life Essentials (EOLE): There's a lot to be learnt about palliative care. General practitioners need confidence and competence when it comes to delivering end of life care and it doesn't innately come to us. So to be able to access quality education and upskill yourself can be really important.
Professor Liz Reymond, Palliative Care Specialist: It's very hard for GPs because they're pressured all the time to be educated on this and educated on that, and there's only 24 hours in the day. But they don't necessarily have to do a PhD in palliative care. There's lots of other resources that can give them a good grounding.
Professor Jennifer Tieman, Training Provider, CareSearch and PalliAGED: What we can do to support people as they're aging, as they're caring for people, as they are dying, and as they're grieving, really reflects who we are as a health system, as a community, and as members of a society.
Dr Caroline Phelan, Training Provider, End of Life Essentials (EOLE): GPs who have training can actually change the trajectory of so many people, including a patient's family and their carers.
Dr Geoff Mitchell, General Practitioner: I would encourage all GPs to consider doing some training in a palliative care. We’re not preventing death, we can't do that, but we can make the whole process as smooth as possible.
Text on screen: A range of free courses and resources are available to general practitioners. Topics include psychosocial and spiritual issues, legal and ethical concerns, identifying and managing symptoms, communication skills and multidisciplinary care.
Text on screen: Free palliative care education and training is available to all general practitioners. Find out more at health.gov.au/palliative-care-education.