ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the unique roles, structures, and day-to-day operation of a tertiary palliative care unit (TPCU). The role of a TCPU is to provide care for the subset of patients who have the most complex problems and who require the involvement of a specialist interdisciplinary or interprofessional team. Utilizing an example unit based in Edmonton, Canada, the chapter discusses staffing, processes, and routines inherent in the operation of a TCPU, including patient selection, symptom assessment tools, discharge planning, education, and research. It also endeavors to place experience-based learnings from the Edmonton example in the larger international context.
