A Seat at the Table: Professional Competencies Define Roles and Value of Psychologists in Pediatric Palliative Care (TH110B)

A Seat at the Table: Professional Competencies Define Roles and Value of Psychologists in Pediatric Palliative Care (TH110B)

Thompson AL; McCarthy SR; Kentor RA

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

2023

Palliative Care

Outcomes: 1. Describe the development of essential competencies for psychologists in pediatric palliative care (PPC) 2. Discuss psychologists' roles in PPC, research, and education and the value of inclusion as members of the multidisciplinary PPC team Psychologists are not yet routinely embedded into pediatric palliative care (PPC) teams, though have been increasingly recognized as contributing unique expertise to the field (eg, evidence-based assessment and treatment of psychological symptoms; research methods, design, and implementation; team- and systems-related skills). Accordingly, national and international organizations have called for inclusion of psychologists and behavioral health specialists within PPC (eg, World Health Organization, 2018; American Psychological Association, 2017; Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group, 2021). Responding to these calls, a workgroup of nine pediatric psychologists (ie, clinicians, researchers, and educators with 4–16 years of experience in PPC) set out to develop competencies for PPC psychologists. Goals were to (1) define the role of psychology in PPC and increase interdisciplinary colleagues’ understanding of our expertise, (2) advocate for inclusion of psychologists in PPC teams, and (3) standardize graduate and post-graduate training to ensure a competent workforce. The proposed Podium Presentation will describe the process of developing these competencies, including review of existing competencies in related mental health disciplines and other psychology subspecialties, selection of a competency model, competency draft development, and review by a multidisciplinary and diverse group of stakeholders, all with careful attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion in clinical care, research, education, and training. We will introduce the essential competencies in six functional and foundational domains (ie, application, education, systems, science, interpersonal, and professionalism) along with corresponding behavioral anchors, thereby orienting the multidisciplinary audience to the unique contributions of psychologists in PPC. Finally, we will highlight how these competencies can help PPC leaders advocate for inclusion of psychology on PPC teams, recruit qualified psychologists into new roles on those teams, and best utilize the expertise of their psychology team members to promote comprehensive biopsychosocial care of patients and families.

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April List 2023