Online Microcredential in Healthcare & Medicine

End of Life Challenges and Palliative Care

Explore critical perspectives on dying, death, and grief to develop your professional practice or reflect on personal experience.

Created by

The University of GlasgowThe University of Glasgow

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In collaboration with

Royal College of Physicians of EdinburghRoyal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

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Take an interdisciplinary approach to palliative care and end of life issues

Around the world, there is growing interest in palliative care, end of life issues, and the cultural values that surround dying, death, and bereavement. Meanwhile, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become obvious how necessary end of life skills are for all health and social care providers.

On this ten-week microcredential from the University of Glasgow, you’ll be introduced to new critical perspectives from within the social sciences, humanities, and clinical disciplines. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that encourages new ways of thinking, you’ll gain the tools to reflect on your own professional and personal encounters with dying, death, and grief.

Understand historical and cultural expectations of ageing and dying

The way we view death is bound up with its presentation throughout history and in each culture and religion. That means that death is as much a social and cultural as a biological phenomenon.

You’ll start the microcredential by exploring the social construction of death, and different historical and cultural expectations around ageing and dying. You’ll learn how cultural attitudes towards dying and old age influenced policy and clinical responses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examine the difficulties of diagnosing dying

Diagnosing dying is not as easy as you might think. You’ll look at difficulties surrounding diagnosis in social and clinical settings, and the implications of these for initiating end of life conversations and planning for death.

You’ll also discuss frailty, dementia and end of life care, examining what the current healthcare system can offer in terms of treatment and understanding.

Investigate evolving approaches to palliative care, assisted dying, and grief

The overarching focus of this microcredential is on how people and healthcare systems are responding to the challenge of delivering end of life care in an ageing world, with a growing global population.

You’ll investigate how end of life practices are evolving, comparing approaches in different countries around the world. You’ll also explore theories of pain, the development of palliative care, and the thorny area of assisted dying.

Last but not least, the tenth week of the programme will look at bereavement care and its connections to palliative care delivery. You’ll examine shifts in the psychology of grief over the last century, and discuss cultural variation in how grief is expressed and understood.

Gain essential skills from health and social care professionals

End of Life Challenges and Palliative Care is led by the University of Glasgow’s End of Life Studies Group, a research and teaching team dedicated to examining end of life issues. This course is supported and approved by the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh (RCPE), and learners who are members of the RCPE will earn 50 CPD Credits upon completion of this microcredential.

By the end of the 10-week programme, you’ll have deepened your own thinking on a range of end of life issues, while gaining the training and credentials you need to work in palliative care.

How will this microcredential help to develop my career?

“Managing end of life and applying palliative care skills” has been recognised as a vital skill for postgraduate medical training. This means there is an increased demand for clinicians in the UK and abroad to gain additional skills in this area.

You’ll gain in-depth knowledge and demonstrable expertise in an increasingly crucial medical and social field. You’ll also enhance your communication skills and your ability to discuss the complex ethical issues around dying, death, and bereavement. Finally, you’ll be better able to think critically about how the dying are treated socially and clinically, and the importance of meaning-making at the end of life.

These crucial critical thinking and communication skills will help to inform your clinical practice and heighten your understanding of global inequalities relating to the relief of suffering at the end of life.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed through a single assignment at the end of the course (Week 10): a 2000-word reflective report. In the report, you will draw on course materials and on your professional and/or personal experience to critically reflect on and connect ideas presented in the course. This will be worth 100% of the grade.

What will I receive after completing this microcredential?

Upon successful completion of this microcredential, you’ll receive 10 postgraduate level academic credits and a HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Record) from the University of Glasgow. Members of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh (RCPE) will receive 50 CPD credits upon completion.

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    What skills will you learn?

    • Communication
    • Empathy
    • Critical assessment
    • Critical evaluation
    • Cultural awareness
    • Social awareness
    • Sensitivity

    What you will achieve

    By the end of the microcredential, you’ll be able to...

    • Explain the ways in which dying can be regarded as a social process as much as a biological event
    • Explain the global spread of palliative care and articulate its core concerns and challenges
    • Identify new and emerging responses to contemporary dying, death, and bereavement
    • Reflect critically on and apply an interdisciplinary perspective to the student’s professional practice or personal experience

    Are you eligible for this microcredential?

    To enrol in this microcredential, you should be educated to undergraduate degree level or have equivalent professional and/or industry experience. Non-native English speakers will need an IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent.

    Is this microcredential right for you?

    This course is designed for anyone working in or around health and social care, including physicians, nurses, social workers, and other allied professionals. It will also be of interest to practitioners, students, researchers, volunteers, and policymakers in end-of-life care.

    Syllabus

    What happens before, during, and after your microcredential

    • Before learning

      You’ll have access to our online welcome area where you’ll be able to start conversations with learners.

    • Course

      From 14 Apr 2025

      image of a bridge with spiral architecture around it

      End of Life Challenges and Palliative Care

      This course addresses the need for additional skills in postgraduate training surrounding palliative and end of life care.

      10 weeks

      10 hours per week

    • After learning

      Once you’ve successfully completed the microcredential, you’ll receive a HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Record) from the University of Glasgow. You’ll have ongoing, unlimited access to the course materials.

    What you will receive

    10 at Postgraduate level from The University of Glasgow

    Find out how credits work and where you can use them in our FAQs.

    What is a microcredential?

    Microcredentials are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly-growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. Your microcredential can stand alone as an independent credential, and some also offer academic credit to use towards a degree.

    Learn online with expert instructors

    Complete online courses led by experts over multiple weeks with a dedicated group of professionals.

    Complete project-based assessments

    Test your understanding with online tutor-marked assessments and exercises.

    Earn a professional credential

    Finish your learning and pass your assessments to gain an accredited credential.

    Advance further in your career

    Use your microcredential as evidence of your specialised skills and progress further in your industry.

    University of Glasgow

    Career-focused learning by The University of Glasgow

    Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities.

    • Established

      1451
    • Location

      Glasgow, Scotland, UK
    • World ranking

      Top 70Source: QS World University Rankings 2020
    Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh logo

    This microcredential is in collaboration with Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

    Delivered by experts

    Naomi Richards

    I am Senior Lecturer in Social Science and Director of the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group. I am a social and visual anthropologist and specialise in cultural aspects of ageing and dying.

    Marian Krawczyk

    I am the Lead for the End of Life Studies MSc/PGDip/PGCert Program at the University of Glasgow. I am a medical anthropologist who is interested in interdisciplinary research on the end of life.

    Learning on FutureLearn

    Your learning, your rules

    • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
    • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
    • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

    Join a global classroom

    • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
    • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
    • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

    Map your progress

    • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
    • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
    • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

    Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

    What are our learners saying?

    This course changed how I manage my patients.

    "This course has certainly changed how I have managed my patients recently and I’ve found myself talking about what I’ve learnt to friends and colleagues. Live seminars had brilliant discussions too."

    It would be a massively valuable addition to a medical course.

    ""I’ve come to this course with 30 plus years of medicine behind me. In medicine we do get very insular and very clinical, and this has really opened my eyes to different ways of looking at things""

    When would you like to start?

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    FAQ

    We can accept payments made by card (Visa, Mastercard and American Express) or PayPal via our online system.

    You will have 14 days from the day the course starts to apply for a refund. If this Microcredential has any non-refundable costs they will be stated in the ‘Overview’ section above. You can find more information in our cancellation and refund policy.

    Microcredentials are designed to fit around your life and timezone.

    There may be live events as part of your studies, but these will be recorded and can be watched afterwards if you aren’t online for the live broadcast.

    No, microcredentials are designed to be taken anywhere in the world. You won’t need the right to study in the country where the university offering the microcredential is based.

    Want to know more? Read the microcredential FAQs, or contact us.