Education Newsletter

Important Dates

Monthly

• Advance Care Planning Month

Weekly

• Volunteer Appreciation Week

Daily

April 1st

• Beyond the Stethoscope
• Hot Tips

April 2nd

• World Autism Awareness Day

April 4th

• Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care (FHPC) registration deadline

April 7th

• World Health Day

April 9th

• Death Cafe at South Georgian Bay CHC

April 11th

• Dog Therapy Appreciation Day

April 13th

• National ASL Day

April 16th

• Advance Care Planning Day

April 17th

• APPS Registration Deadline

April 18th

• FHPC Starts, (1/3)

April 21st

• World Creativity and Innovation Day

April 22nd

• Earth Day

April 20th

• NSMHPCN Clinical Conference Early Bird Deadline

April 30th

• National Honesty Day

Air Date: 01-APR-24

Advance Care Planning

Please join us for a special edition of Beyond the Stethoscope as we join Lynda Meeks and Rachel Lapensee for a conversation on Advance Care Planning.

If you are a caregiver, discussing end-of-life decisions with the person in your care can be very difficult. You may need to initiate and encourage the conversation. To make the topic less overwhelming, try bringing it up in a comfortable, relaxed setting. Begin with a situation they can relate to like another loved one’s end-of-life experience and remind them how this type of planning will reduce stress, anxiety and conflict between family members and loved ones. Don’t be discouraged if you are initially met with resistance. Advance Care Planning requires many conversations and is an ongoing process.

Five Steps of Advance Care Planning

By planning early, you can ensure that have a voice in your future medical decisions. To help you (or a loved one) work through the advance care process, here are five steps to follow:

• THINK about your beliefs, values and concerns. What brings you quality of life?
• LEARN about various end-of-life medical procedures and the care decisions you may be asked to make (e.g. life-prolonging measures).
• DECIDE who will be your Substitute Decision Maker(s). Who would you like to speak for you if you are unable to make decisions?
• TALK about your wishes with your Substitute Decision Maker, loved ones and health care providers.
• RECORD your wishes and ensure that your decision maker(s) understands your choices and has a copy of your plan. Write your decisions down in an Advance Care Directive or record or videotape them.

Advanced Care Planning

Thursday, April 25th, 2024

Nausea & Vomiting

May 30th, 2024

Constipation & Diarrhea

June 27th, 2024

Dyspnea

September 26th, 2024

Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care

Upcoming Offerings:

Building on the Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care Program, The Advanced Palliative Practice Skills (APPS) program is an interactive, educational opportunity for Personal Support Workers (PSWs), Health Care Aides and Hospice Volunteers who are graduates of the Core Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care Program.



Course Components:

• Three, 2-hour virtual in-class Case Based Learning sessions
• Self-directed online learning modules x 4
• Two peer-to-peer exchanges
• Ongoing self reflection with practical application activities

All course components are mandatory, including attendance at all virtual in class learning sessions.

Pre-requisite: 

Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care.

Duration: Approximately 9 weeks

Upcoming Offerings:

Comprehensive Advanced Palliative Care Education (CAPCE) Program

The CAPCE program is uniquely designed for nurses (RPN, RN, NP) to develop their leadership and expertise skills in hospice palliative care across all healthcare sectors.



Pre-requisites:

To be eligible to participate in the CAPCE program, the following pre-requisites are required

• Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care Program
• A minimum of 1-year experience caring for people with a progressive, life-limiting illness
• Ability and interest to function as a Resource Nurse, providing primary level support and advanced level knowledge and skills for care team members in his or her organization
• Ability and interest to coach others, facilitate change and be a role model
• Sensitivity to the impact of attitudes, behaviours, life experiences, values, thoughts and feelings on the well-being and quality of life from the perspective of all partners in care

Duration: Approximately 5 months

2024

2025 (UPDATED: course components and dates)

Course Components:

• Nine two-hour virtual in-class coaching sessions over 18 weeks
• Self-directed reading and tasks
• Complete and submit three learning goals and attend a 1:1 review of goals with facilitator
• Three Peer-to-Peer exchanges
• Four discussion board postings
• End of module quizzes
• Complete a final assignment and application of knowledge in the final coaching session

All course components are mandatory, including attendance at all virtual in-class learning sessions.

Duration: Approximately 5 months

Start Date: January 21, 2025

Registration Deadline: January 7, 2025

Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Required Sessions:

• January 21, 2025
• February 4, 2025
• February 18, 2025
• March 4, 2025
• March 25, 2025
• April 8, 2025
• April 22, 2025
• May 6, 2025
• May 20, 2025