Education
Our Palliative Care Education programs focus on caring for individuals with life-threatening, progressive illnesses, emphasizing respect for patients’ and families’ beliefs, values, and choices.
Palliative Care
Palliative Care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual (WHO, 2022).
Palliative Care Programs
Practice
Our Palliative Care Practice team focuses on self-care with activities including resiliency training, teambuilding, music and art therapy, massages, yoga, and much more.
Research
Our Palliative Care Research team focuses on the importance of nurses having a seat at the table and engaging directly with the critical work of palliative care.
MUSC Health Palliative Care
MUSC's palliative care team is made up of specially-trained doctors, advanced practice nurses, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers who work together with primary medical teams treating serious illnesses.
APP Externship
The Palliative Care Advanced Practice Provider Externship is a week-long immersion course led by faculty who are nationally and internationally known palliative care experts. This immersion is geared toward the practice of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Physician Assistants (PAs).
DNP Palliative Care
As a leader in palliative care education, the MUSC College of Nursing has been recognized for its holistic approach to emphasizing the value in palliative care.
I will always remember sitting on the couch in her home that was built by her great-great grandfather, listening to her talk about how cancer had changed her life, what she hoped for and what she worried about.
Leadership
Carrie L. Cormack, DNP, APRN, CPNP-BC, FAAN, FPCN
Lead Faculty
Carrie Cormack is an Associate Professor and lead palliative care faculty in the College of Nursing (CON) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
Dr. Cormack focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals living with serious illness through palliative care education and practice. Under her leadership, the CON prioritized palliative care nursing education and aligned with national recommendations, by successfully embedding palliative care across all undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. In addition, she led the development and successful implementation of the nation’s first Post-Master of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice Lifespan Palliative Care program. As faculty with the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), Fellow with the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (FPCN), and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), Dr. Cormack teaches palliative care to interprofessional healthcare clinicians and students locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Concurrent to her faculty work, Dr. Cormack practices as a pediatric nurse practitioner in perinatal palliative care honoring patient and family values as they navigate receiving difficult news during pregnancy.
Dr. Cormack received her BSN from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, and her MSN and Doctorate from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Kathleen O. Lindell, Ph.D., RN, ATSF, FAAN
Mary Swain Endowed Chair in Palliative Care
Tiffany Harrison
Palliative Care Education Coordinator
Meet Your Lead Faculty, Dr. Carrie Cormack
Dr. Carrie Cormack is the Distinguished Professor in Palliative Care and Associate Professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at the College of Nursing. Dr. Cormack earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, and her Master of Science in Nursing degree and Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree from MUSC.
Dr. Cormack moved to South Carolina as a new graduate Registered Nurse to follow her dreams of working in Pediatric Nursing. Now, with over 20 years’ experience in Pediatric Nursing, she has worked in acute care, Developmental Pediatrics, Pediatric Orthopaedics, as the Director of Nursing at a school for children with severe and multiple disabilities, and with a community based palliative care organization. She continues to specialize in palliative care and, in addition to her faculty work, she is now working with the MUSC pediatric palliative care team in perinatal palliative care. Dr. Cormack is certified by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board and the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center. She is dedicated to increasing palliative care education in nursing programs and is an emerging leader in palliative care graduate nursing education.
She serves as faculty for the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) and Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) and educates others in end-of-life care both nationally and internationally. She has been instrumental in the integration of Palliative Care into the programs at the College of Nursing and lead the development and implementation of the new Post-MSN to DNP in Lifespan Palliative Care track. Dr. Cormack is committed to ensuring that nurse graduates at all levels are prepared to deliver quality palliative care for individuals with serious illness and their families.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou'
Palliative Care Digital Badges
Share your skills, knowledge and accomplishments
Digital Badges are a new and innovative way to recognize learning, qualifications, and professional development. You will be able to share your earned badge on various social networks including Linked In, Facebook, etc. Interested parties, including potential employers will be able to easily view and verify this accomplishment.
Competencies: From ELNEC & RELIAS
Undergraduates: Download Competencies From ELNEC (PDF)
Graduates: Download Competencies From ELNEC (PDF)