Journal of Palliative Care & Medicine
Open Access

Review Article

Palliative Care in Nursing - Where are we in Pakistan?

Punjwani R^1*, Khatoon A², Dias JM³, Kurji ZA⁴, Siddiqui DF⁵, Bana S⁶and Baig-Ansari N⁷

¹Nursing Education, Indus Children Cancer Hospital, ST-1/C, Block-10, Ayesha Manzil, Federal B Area, Karachi, Pakistan

²Infection Control, Indus Children Cancer Hospital, ST-1/C, Block-10, Ayesha Manzil, Federal B Area, Karachi, Pakistan

³Program & Blended Learning, Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan

⁴Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan

⁵The Indus Hospital Research Center, The Indus Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan

⁶Nursing Services, Indus Children Cancer Hospital, ST-1/C, Block-10, Ayesha Manzil, Federal B Area, Karachi, Pakistan

⁷Senior Epidemiologist, The Indus Hospital Research Center, The Indus Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan

Corresponding Author:

Punjwani R
BScN, Manager Nursing Education
Indus Children Cancer Hospital
ST-1/C, Block-10, Ayesha Manzil
Federal B Area, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92 0345249905
E-mail: Rehana_punjwani@yahoo.com

Received Date: October 19, 2015 Accepted Date: October 29, 2015 Published Date: November 02, 2015

Citation:Punjwani R, Khatoon A, Dias JM, Kurji ZA, Siddiqui DF, et al. (2015) Palliative Care in Nursing - Where are we in Pakistan?. J Palliat Care Med S5: S5002. doi:10.4172/2165-7386.1000S5002

Copyright: ©2015 Punjwani R, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Palliative care is an integral component of cancer care. Developing countries like Pakistan are still struggling with the initiation and implementation of WHO pillars for establishing palliative care services In Pakistan palliative care is a low priority issue with many other competing health and developmental issues. With the rising rates of cancer incidence, the national cancer plan was initiated in 2002, but the progress is very slow .This article focuses on the availability of palliative care services to population with special focal point on nursing training and education .The article reviews in depth the present curriculums of nursing education on palliative care. As per authors knowledge there is no existing graduate or undergraduate level of structured program. There has been no discussion in Pakistan nursing council, the licensure body in Pakistan to develop comprehensive curriculum for palliative care nursing. The empowerment process of Pakistani nurses to become active palliative care nurses begins with education and knowledge enhancement. Considering the present scope of palliative care there is an immense need of training, teaching and structured services in Pakistan.

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