Palliative care is vital for end-of-life care for those with severe or terminal illnesses. Setting SMART goals for palliative care can help individuals and their families manage the complex emotions and feelings associated with their condition.
This goal-setting method will help you consistently meet your patients’ needs and progress in the palliative care field. Here, we’ll cover examples of SMART goals tailored to palliative care.
What is a SMART Goal?
The SMART system will enable you to establish practical goals for palliative care. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
Are you still confused? Let’s dive deeper into each SMART criterion:
Specific
The more specific your goals for palliative care are, the better your chances of reaching them. Specificity helps clarify what you want to achieve and how you plan to do so. That enables healthcare providers to develop personalized plans that cater to your needs.
For example, suppose you aim to help patients manage pain better during palliative care. In that case, specificity means identifying the type of pain they experience and creating strategies to address it. These may include medication adjustments or alternative therapies such as massage or acupuncture.
Measurable
Measurable goals allow healthcare providers to monitor patient progress, adjust treatment plans, and ensure that resources are used effectively. Moreover, they give patients and their families a tangible sense of achievement and hope.
While it may take some effort initially, investing in measurable goals will pay off in the long run. Not only does it lead to better outcomes for patients, but it also allows healthcare providers to maximize their impact while maintaining accountability.
Attainable
When setting your goals, try to balance ambition and realism. While there’s nothing wrong with aiming high, unrealistic goals can be incredibly demotivating. If you constantly fall short of your targets, it may be arduous to maintain the enthusiasm to keep pushing forward.
Relevant
Pursuing goals that are in line with your personal values will keep you motivated as you work towards achieving them. Your values and beliefs will serve as a guide and help you endure challenging times without straying off course.
Time-Based
Having a well-defined timeline will help you focus and stay on track with your goals. After all, life can throw unexpected curveballs at any given moment. You need a roadmap to build momentum toward achieving your aspirations.
13 SMART Goals Examples for Palliative Care
Let’s take a look at 13 examples of SMART goals for palliative care:
1. Improve Patient Quality of Life
“Within 7 months, I’ll improve our patient’s quality of life through palliative care by utilizing evidence-based practice and resources from our health system. I will track the patient’s quality of life through regular assessments and review with their primary care provider.”
Specific: This outlines what you need to do (use evidence-based practice and resources from the health system, track the patient’s quality of life, and review with the primary care provider) for how long (7 months).
Measurable: You can track your progress through assessment scores and reviews with the primary care physician.
Attainable: Given the available resources, improving patient quality of life is achievable.
Relevant: Ensuring patient quality of life is a priority for palliative care.
Time-based: Completion of this goal is expected after 7 whole months.
2. Increase Caregiver Education
“I will promote a caregiver education program providing resources to help caregivers understand their role in the palliative care process. Within four months, the program will have educational training, workshops, and an online library of resources to support caregivers.”
Specific: The goal is well-defined, defining the objective of providing resources to caregivers in an accessible format.
Measurable: By measuring the number of caregivers that utilize the resources, it can be determined if the goal was successful.
Attainable: This can be done by creating an educational program and library of resources to be accessed by caregivers.
Relevant: This SMART goal is relevant to providing better palliative care because it gives caregivers the necessary information and resources.
Time-based: There is a four-month end date for accomplishing success.
3. Reduce Patient Anxiety
“I’ll create a strategy to reduce patient anxiety and depression by 20% within three months. This plan should involve implementing mindfulness practices, providing stress reduction resources, and reducing wait times.”
Specific: This statement aims to reduce patient anxiety and depression by a certain percentage.
Measurable: You should measure the progress by tracking the number of patients with reduced anxiety.
Attainable: This is possible if the person has help from other staff members to implement mindfulness practices and stress-reduction resources.
Relevant: Reducing patient anxiety is vital for any palliative care facility.
Time-based: The SMART goal should be achieved within three months.
4. Enhance Teamwork and Collaboration
“I want to foster a collaborative environment in the palliative care unit by increasing the number of team meetings and brainstorming sessions. By the end of 5 months, I hope to see improved collaboration and teamwork among staff members, resulting in better patient care.”
Specific: The goal is clearly stated and outlines what steps must be taken.
Measurable: You could count the number of meetings and brainstorming sessions and any improvements in patient care due to increased collaboration.
Attainable: This is attainable because it’s feasible to promote collaboration and teamwork in a palliative care unit in 5 months.
Relevant: This goal is relevant to providing better patient care and creating a positive environment.
Time-based: The timeline of 5 months will keep everyone focused on completing the goal.
5. Improve Access to Resources
“I want to improve access to resources available for palliative care patients over the four months ahead. My aim is to provide resources including mental health support, legal advice, and information about end-of-life decisions.”
Specific: You want to improve access to resources for palliative care patients.
Measurable: You can measure success by the number of resources you provide.
Attainable: Assuming that sufficient resources are available, this statement should be doable in four months.
Relevant: This SMART goal directly relates to improving the quality of life for palliative care patients.
Time-based: You should expect to reach success within four months.
6. Foster Patient Independence
“Within the next four months, I’ll strive to create an environment that encourages patient independence and autonomy through tailored care plans and continuous support. I will ensure that each patient can maintain their sense of identity and purpose in life.”
Specific: The goal is clear and concise, outlining what needs to be accomplished.
Measurable: Success can be gauged through tailored care plans and continuous support.
Attainable: This is achievable through developing tailored care plans and providing continuous support.
Relevant: This is pertinent to fostering patient independence and autonomy because it allows them to maintain their sense of identity and purpose in life.
Time-based: There is a four-month timeline for goal achievement.
7. Ensure Effective Communication
“I will ensure that all palliative care staff has access to communication tools, such as instant messaging and video conferencing platforms, within this month. I want to make sure that all staff members can stay in contact with each other quickly and efficiently.”
Specific: This goal is about providing the necessary tools to ensure effective communication.
Measurable: Accessibility of communication platforms will be evaluated within a month.
Attainable: This is achievable since it does not require a significant investment in communication tools.
Relevant: Effective communication helps with better patient care and coordination among staff members.
Time-based: This particular goal has a deadline of within one month.
8. Promote Positive Attitudes
“I want to promote a positive attitude among the staff to help make all our patients feel appreciated, respected, and comfortable. I aim to train all the staff in positive patient relations techniques and have a team that models these behaviors within 7 months.”
Specific: You want to promote a positive attitude among the staff so that all patients feel respected and comfortable.
Measurable: They will train all the staff in positive patient relations techniques and have a team that models these behaviors.
Attainable: This is reachable because it is a feasible goal with the necessary training and support.
Relevant: The goal is appropriate because it will help create an environment of respect and comfort for all patients.
Time-based: The SMART goal is time-bound because it has an end date of 7 months.
9. Boost Access to Community Services
“I’ll research and explore methods to increase access to community services for palliative care patients. I aim to identify three new community support services to be made available for the next 10 months.”
Specific: This is explicit because you have identified the goal of researching and exploring new services that can be made available for palliative care patients.
Measurable: Progress can be tracked by the number of new services identified over time.
Attainable: The goal is achievable as it requires researching and exploring available services.
Relevant: Making community services more accessible for palliative care patients is an important goal that can have a significant impact.
Time-based: Accomplishment of this goal is anticipated after 10 months.
10. Implement Appropriate Care Interventions
“For 5 months, I will establish a care plan for each patient in our palliative care unit that includes appropriate interventions based on their needs. These interventions will be tailored to the patient’s current condition and updated regularly according to their progress.”
Specific: This goal outlines what you need to do (establish a care plan and implement interventions) and for how long (5 months).
Measurable: You could count the care plans and interventions you’ve implemented.
Attainable: Establishing a care plan and implementing interventions is absolutely doable.
Relevant: Care plans and interventions are essential components of palliative care.
Time-based: Five months are required to meet this particular goal.
11. Facilitate End-of-Life Decisions
“By the end of 7 months, I’ll facilitate and develop a process that helps families make end-of-life decisions respectfully and timely. I will also develop an educational program to help families better understand their choices and the associated implications.”
Specific: The goal details the person’s objective and how they will reach them.
Measurable: Track the progress of developing an education program and a process to facilitate end-of-life decisions.
Attainable: Given the time frame of 7 months, this statement is possible for you to complete.
Relevant: This is suitable because it helps empower families when faced with end-of-life decisions.
Time-based: There is a 7-month deadline for accomplishing success.
12. Reduce Pain and Discomfort Levels
“I will reduce pain and discomfort levels for all patients in my program by 10% within the following 6 months. This will be done by ensuring each patient receives the appropriate treatment for their condition and providing adequate pain relief as soon as possible.”
Specific: The aim is to actively reduce pain and discomfort levels for patients within the program.
Measurable: It can be measured by evaluating the reduction of pain and discomfort levels by 10%.
Attainable: This goal is possible if the appropriate treatment and pain relief are provided for each patient.
Relevant: Pain relief is essential to palliative care, so this goal is appropriate.
Time-based: You have 6 whole months to achieve this statement.
13. Enhance Support for Bereaved Families
“I will create a bereavement support program for families of patients who die in our care to provide additional emotional and practical help. I would like a plan to develop and implement this program within 8 months.”
Specific: The goal is explicit about creating a bereavement support program.
Measurable: One could check whether the program has been developed and implemented after 8 months.
Attainable: Developing a bereavement support program is achievable and can be tailored to meet the community’s needs.
Relevant: The goal is relevant to supporting bereaved families and providing emotional and practical aid.
Time-based: Eight months are needed to reach goal completion.
Final Thoughts
SMART goals can help streamline communication and improve outcomes for patients and families. Remember that every patient and family has different needs, so goal setting should be tailored to each situation.
By working with the healthcare team, you can use SMART goal setting to ensure the success of the palliative care journey. It is an effective tool to help facilitate better patient outcomes in palliative care.
