"The pandemic has awakened interest in palliative care in Spain, even from the administration."

The School of Nursing of the University of Navarra organized a meeting with Juan Pablo Leiva, president of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care (SECPAL). In his speech, he explained the status through which palliative care is going through in Spain: "Palliative care is at a moment core topic for everyone. The pandemic we have gone through and the social and anthropological phenomena we are experiencing are awakening interest in palliative care, even from the administration".

The new strategy of work initiated by the scientific society involves various health disciplines where "doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers have reflected and agreed on a methodology for the administrative formulas and bureaucratic processes for the recognition of these areas of professional knowledge ".

As president of SECPAL, he indicated that "generating a palliative care law in Spain is necessary" and added that "we hope to see positive changes in the coming years, otherwise it means that we are going backwards". The new challenges facing nursing in this field have involved a joint work with the Spanish Palliative Care Nursingassociation (AECPAL): "The main challenge is to recognize the specific field of knowledge by the General Administration of Professional Ordination. We work with AECPAL on projects such as hiring, family reconciliation, professional development at research and teaching, challenges that are always present."

Diploma in palliative care pioneer

The session was framed within the Study program that integrates the School of Nursing in its diploma of palliative care, which complements the academic training of this Degree. In this way, Leiva remarked: "It seems to me an intelligent and very relevant strategy professor to prepare nurses from the training in pre-Degree with a focus that is so necessary and increasingly recognized in our society".

The School of Nursing is the only one in Spain that has a diploma in Palliative Care for the training of the students. It is a pioneering degree scroll in Spain and Europe. Designed from innovation professor, care and research, its goal is to offer students the opportunity to deepen, during the four years of degree program, in the increasingly demanded field of palliative care.