Difficult Decisions: Managing Communication Challenges

This lesson is designed for professionals supporting patients who have recently learned that they have a terminal illness. It is the physician’s role to discuss a new diagnosis and the expected course of the disease (prognosis) with the patient. However, it is the role of the healthcare professional to reinforce, educate, support and empower the patient and the patient’s family to understand and accept the illness.

Healthy Boundaries and Healing Hearts

Health care boundaries are the limits within which health care services are to be delivered. Health care boundaries are important for the protection of both the patient and the health care provider.  Maintaining healthy boundaries can be difficult when faced with the challenge of end-of-life care.  Health care providers and volunteers need to demonstrate a healthy balance between care and compassion without becoming overly involved in their patient’s lives. 

This course is designed to assist the learner in understanding boundaries in health care, identify boundary issues and methods to avoid or address those issues. 

Overview of Hospice: Care Beyond Cure

A team of professionals, para-professionals, and volunteers comprise the unique team of support available to the hospice patient and their families. It is important for all team members to have a clear understanding of hospice care. This course is an entry-level module for those interested in learning more about hospice, defining the roles of the team members, and understanding the services available to the hospice patient and family.

The Faces of Grief: Addressing Spiritual and Bereavement Needs

Grief manifests itself in many ways to the patient and to the family.  A broader understanding of spirituality and bereavement enables the care team to provide help to those they serve as well as take care of themselves.   This course will assist the participant in identifying methods to comfortably assess and address the spiritual and bereavement needs of the patient and family with education, resources, and information.

What Do I Do? Managing Physical and Emotional Symptoms of Dying

Dying is much more than a medical “event”. It is a time of emotions that may include fear, grief, joy, anger, reconciliation, forgiveness, and transformation for all involved. Fear of the unknown for the patient and family is only natural.

One of the fears the professional might face is the observation of the emotional and bodily changes of the patient as death approaches.  The professional may not be prepared to provide the appropriate assessments and education that is expected by the patient and family. In the journey between living and dying, this is an emotional time during which the professional is needed for support, encouragement, and direction.

This course is designed for professionals with a desire to learn more about the physical and emotional signs of the terminally ill patient, including the expected sequence of changes.  Included are teaching aids for communication with the patient and family as symptoms occur.