Episode 103: Modern Palliative Care: its Evolving Role, Individualised Prescribing and Honest Conversations at the End of Life

In this episode, Dr Bryony Alderman , palliative care consultant and RCP sustainability clinical education fellow, joins Dr Vasiliki Thanopoulou, rheumatology registrar and RCP clinical education fellow, for a wide‑ranging discussion demystifying modern palliative care. Together they explore how the specialty has evolved beyond end‑of‑life support, highlighting early integration, symptom management across disease groups, and the importance of compassionate, individualised care. The conversation dives deep into practical clinical considerations: appropriate timing of referrals, anticipatory prescribing, managing medications in renal/hepatic failure, handling chronic disease therapies at the end of life, and common misconceptions around syringe drivers. They also discuss communication challenges, including uncertainty in prognostication, hydration and nutrition decisions, and supporting families during difficult conversations. This is an essential episode for clinicians looking to enhance confidence and skill in end‑of‑life care, while keeping person‑centred care at the heart of practice. Resources Lee C, Tran TT, Ross J Anticipatory prescribing in community end-of-life care BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2024;14:353-357 Explore our CPD portfolio by your career stage RCP | Education and professional development RCP Links Education RCP Social Media Instagram LinkedIn Facebook Bluesky Music Episode 50 onward - Bensound.com Episodes 1 - 49 'Impressive Deals' - Nicolai Heidlas Any adverts within this podcast may use computer generated voices

You can listen to Episode 103: Modern Palliative Care: its Evolving Role, Individualised Prescribing and Honest Conversations at the End of Life online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 103: Modern Palliative Care: its Evolving Role, Individualised Prescribing and Honest Conversations at the End of Life is an episode from RCP Medicine Podcast by Royal College of Physicians.

This episode is 51:26 long.

This episode was published on Apr 1, 2026.

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