Urska Lunder, MD

Attending Physician
University Clinic for Respiratory Diseases,
Golnik

Director, Palliative Care Development Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Dr. Urska Lunder has played a leading role in Slovenia in developing and delivering organized palliative care to patients and their families. After pioneering the bone marrow transplantation procedures implementation in the transplantation team at the University Clinical Center Ljubljana, she shifted her career towards development of palliative care. With her colleagues she founded the Palliative Care Development Institute Ljubljana in 2000. She is particularly interested in the education of communication in palliative care, where she’s developed innovative teaching models with experiential interactive learning and role playing. Through her work at the Palliative Care Development Institute Ljubljana, Dr. Lunder is committed to establishing palliative care teams and units in Slovenia’ major health care institutions.

Download and Read Urska’s Personal Story (343 KB)

Other Appointments

President, Slovenian Palliative Medicine Society
Invited Faculty, University Ljubljana, Medical University

Key Accomplishments

Public Campaign Lead, raising awareness about palliative care through published patients’ stories, 2010
Appointed as a professional lead in a Pilot project at the Ministry for Health of Implementing High-quality Palliative Care into three regions in Slovenia, 2009-2010
National lead and a collaborator in the EU 7th Framework Support/Collaboration Project – OPCARE9 with aim of optimizing care for cancer patients in the last days of life, 2008-2011
Member, International OPCARE9 Research Consortium
Member, International Reference Group for the development and implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient
Past President, Professional Advising Committee for Palliative Care at the Ministry of Health

Education / Honors

Leader, International Palliative Care Leadership Development Initiative, The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice, San Diego, CA, USA, 2010-2011
Fellow, International Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice, 2007-2009
Post-graduate training, International Policy Fellowship, Central European University Budapest, 2004-2005
Specialist in Transfusiology with Hematology, University Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, 1989
Medical Degree, University Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, 1984

Key Publications
Journal articles

LUNDER, Urška, FURLAN, Maja, SIMONIČ, Anja. Spiritual needs assessments and measurements: Curr Opin Support Palliat Care, 2001 5:273-278
LUNDER, Urška. Zgodnja paliativna oskrba bolnikov z metastatskim pljučnim rakom. V: TRILLER, Nadja (ur.). Kardiovaskularne bolezni in rak pljuč : zbornik sestanka, Laško, 10. in 11. December 2010
LUNDER, Urška. Do patients with end stage COPD need more structured palliative care than patients with lung cancer? V: KERN, Izidor (ur.). Book of abstracts. Golnik: University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, 2008, str. 139-141
LUNDER, Urška, SAUTER, Silvia, FÜRST, Carl-John. Evidence-based palliative care: beliefs and evidence for changing practice. Palliat. med., 2004, letn. 18, št. 4, str. 265-26

Books

Lunder U. Paliativna oskrba (2012). Univerzitetna klinika za respiratorne in pljučne bolezni Golnik. Ljubljana: Zavod za razvoj paliativne oskrbe. In press
Peternelj A, Lunder U. (2010). Izvajanje celostne paliativne oskrbe v ljubljanski, gorensjki in pomurski regiji. Ljubljana, Ministrstvo za zdravje

Key Presentations

Communication at the End-of-Life. Public Lecture. Speaker at TEDx Maribor, February 4, 2012
Provision of Palliative Care Services to Patients in Slovenia. Italian National Congress of Palliative Care, Trieste, Italy, October 26-28, 2011
Quality indicators in Palliative Care Provision at the University Clinic for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik. Golniški simpozij, Lunder U, Slak J, Benedik V, Jakhel T, Mikloša P, Simonic A, Adamic K, October 3, 2011
Status of Palliative Care in Slovenia. Golniški simpozij, October 3, 2011