33 fellows from 9 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union participated in the Palliative Care Course (ELNEC) organised by the Open Medical Institute (OMI) at Arenberg Castle in Salzburg from 4-10 September 2022. Unlike other courses organised by the OMI, this seminar was aimed exclusively at healthcare professionals in the field of palliative care.
The course was led by Betty Ferrell, RN, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN from the USA, Professor and Director of Nursing Research and Education and Principal Investigator of ELNEC at City of Hope. Additional US faculty included Carrie L. Cormack, DNP, APRN, CPNP-BC, Patrick Coyne, MSN, ACHPN, ACNS-BC, FPCN, FAAN, and Judith A. Paice, RN, PhD, FAAN. The faculty was concluded by Nicoleta Mitrea, APRN, MSc, PhD from Romania. The ELNEC project began 22 years ago and has since trained clinicians in 50 US states and 101 other countries.
ELNEC is a train-the-trainer program where clinicians attend an ELNEC course to gain palliative care knowledge and teaching skills so they can train other professionals in their countries and care settings. ELNEC has educated over 45,737 trainers who have then trained over 1.4 million clinicians, making a great impact on the care of patients and families facing serious illness.