The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) will provide 10 scholarships to palliative care workers from developing countries to attend the 18th International Congress in Montréal on October 5-8, 2010. The congress organizers have put together a comprehensive program with sessions in English, French and Spanish. Click here to see the Congress program. The deadline to submit posters to the congress is May 30, 2010.

Applications are accepted from individuals from all health professions, and an effort will be made to have a balanced regional representation. Palliative care workers from Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa are welcome to apply. Click here for information and eligibility criteria for travelling grants. The deadline to apply for this traveling scholarship is July 15, 2010.

The Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act of 2009 was introduced on May 21, 2009, by West Virginia Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV. The SWHPN Executive Committee has sent a letter of endorsement to Senator Rockefeller and the bill’s cosponsors.

In the letter, SWHPN suggests wording that incorporates social workers in palliative care teams and health care providers involved in advance care planning and advance directives decisions. Specifically, SWHPN is advocating for social workers to be eligible for the professional education and reimbursement opportunities proposed in this bill.

These amendments would include social workers in the a workforce promotion program as critical providers of psychosocial supports for patients and authorize the National Center on Palliative and End-of-Life Care to promote research on psychosocial care.

SWHPN also suggests that social workers be eligible to receive reimbursement for advance care planning conversations with patients, required to receive continuing education on end-of-life care and advance care planning, and be added to the team of providers offering long-distance, or telemedicine, services for patients and communities lacking access to skilled care.

SWHPN Members can review this letter and join the discussion on the SWHPN online community.

The American Cancer Society has announced a request for proposals in patient-oriented palliative care research. It is anticipated that a total of $500,000 will be available for 5 to 10 applications selected through the ACS peer review system. The application deadline is October 15th, 2008. Visit cancer.org to read more about the RFA and application process.

The Project on Death in America (PDIA) Social Work Leadership Award is given annually to social workers who demonstrate outstanding leadership and have advanced the field in end-of-life, hospice and palliative care. The goal of this new award is to acknowledge and increase the visibility of social workers’ contributions to the field, and encourage future generations to continue providing quality care to the seriously ill, dying and bereaved.

The recipient will attend the annual conference of a selected social work or palliative care professional organization where they will receive this award and have an opportunity to present a summary of their work.  The recipient will also be encouraged to publish their work in a professional journal.