How do you teach about Prognostication?

Prognostication is one of the most challenging concepts; however, there are some good teaching tools to get you started!

A search of the Portal of Geriatric Online Education (POGOe) revealed some excellent resources: 

1. Educational Products related to more general geriatric palliative care topics (i.e. hospice, advance care planning):

• The Medicare Hospice Benefit Game by Shaida Brandon received 5 stars as a teaching tool which makes card ‘gaming’ as a teaching technique easy for anyone to utilize. 
• The Elder Care: A Resource for Interprofessional Providers: Disease Screening in Older Adults: When to Stop by Charles Moulton is a good handout on when to stop screening based on life expectancy.

2. Critically Appraised Papers which allow both learners and teachers to access these reviews and send them along via e-mail. For example, there is a review of the ADEPT versus Hospice Guidelines Article (REF: Mitchell SL, Miller SC, Teno JM, Kiely DK, Davis RB, Shaffer ML. Prediction of 6-month survival of nursing home residents with advanced dementia using ADEPT vs hospice eligibility guidelines. JAMA. 2010 Nov 3;304(17):1929-35.)

3. Interactive Websites like ePrognosis are included as well (see POGOe link here). This is another tool that GeriPal readers will be familiar with and has a five star rating. This site is designed for older adults who do not have a dominant terminal illness. For patients with a dominant terminal illness, such as advanced dementia, cancer, or heart failure. It is a rough guide to educate and inform clinicians about possible mortality outcomes.

There are many more great teaching resources out there, so please help us discuss and share those that you find helpful in the GeriPal comment section.

Wishing you all the best in your teaching adventures,

Amy M. Corcoran