Advantages and Challenges of an Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Team Approach to Surgical Care

Palliative care is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on optimizing quality of life for patients with serious, life-limiting illnesses and includes aggressive management of pain and symptoms; psychological, social, and spiritual support; and discussions of advance care planning, including treatment decision making and complex care coordination. Early palliative care is associated with increased quality of life, decreased symptom burden, decreased health care expenditures, and improved caregiver outcomes. This article discusses integrating interdisciplinary palliative care into surgical practice, and some current models of using and expanding palliative care skill sets in surgery, including training initiatives for both physicians and nurses.