Palliative Care – 1/11/2023

Welcome to CCSP/Palliative Care Grand Rounds

The Palliative Care and Comprehensive Cancer Support Programs (CCSP) co-organize weekly presentations on the care of seriously ill patients and their families, including individuals living with cancer, relevant to interdisciplinary clinicians. Individual topics address pain and symptom management, communication approaches with patients and families, strategies to facilitate coping and support, quality improvement and research in these disciplines.

January 11

Denise Spector, PhD, MPH, ANP, RYT

Reflections on the Coalescing of Integrative Medicine and Palliative Care: Professional and Personal Experiences

Bio:

Denise is an oncology nurse practitioner, integrative health care provider, educator, and yoga instructor. She has been an oncology nurse for 35+ years and specialized in cancer pain and symptom management early in her career. During much of her academic studies in both public health and nursing, she focused on cancer prevention for individuals at high risk, such as those with a strong family history of cancer, and among cancer survivors through lifestyle modifications (e.g., increasing physical activity, improving diet, tobacco cessation, stress management, etc.), which has been her long-held passion.

Currently Denise has a clinical faculty appointment with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and provides integrative medicine consultations to oncology patients through the Comprehensive Cancer Support Program (CCSP) at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Additionally, she has a consulting associate position with Duke University School of Nursing where she has taught a graduate course on evidence-based nursing practice for the past 9 years.

As a result of personal benefits from practicing yoga and meditation, Denise became a yoga teacher several years ago. As a complementary modality to mental/emotional health care, she taught yoga classes to both adolescents and adults on various inpatient psychiatry units at UNC for over 4 years. In May 2022, Denise completed the Integrative Oncology Scholar’s Program at the University of Michigan and in 2018 she completed a 2-year clinical interdisciplinary fellowship through the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine with the goal to incorporate more evidence-based integrative strategies into her clinical oncology practice. Her primary interests relate to the prevention of cancer and other chronic illnesses and the promotion of optimal wellness for cancer survivors through lifestyle behavior modifications (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, weight management, etc.) and mind-body medicine. In her free time, she enjoys long hikes in the woods (forest bathing) with friends, traveling, and reading about health and wellness topics.

We Offer:
Accreditation
The School of Medicine of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Continuing Medical Education Statement
The School of Medicine of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill designates this live activity for a maximum of 8.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Other health professionals will receive a certificate of attendance from an AMA PRA Category 1™ activity. These certificates are accepted by the NC Boards for physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and respiratory therapists. Other health care providers may also be able to use these certificates, depending on their particular license requirements. (License requirements are subject to change. Participants should check with their licensing boards for specific questions. UNC and its partners are not responsible for changes in license requirements.)

Disclosure statement
This activity has been planned and implemented under the sole supervision of the course director and planning committee, in association with the UNC Office of Continuing Professional Development (UNC CPD). The course director, planning committee, presenters, and CPD staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests as defined by the ACCME.

Please visit the CCSP/Palliative Care Grand Rounds calendar page to view upcoming events.