Education Newsletter

Important Dates

Indigenous Disabilities Awareness Month

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

National Pain Awareness Week Nov. 3-9

National Veterans Week Nov. 5-11

Nov. 1st

• Hot Tips
• Beyond the Stethoscope

Nov. 5th

• Canadian Serious Illness Conversations Course

Nov. 6th

• APPS 4 of 4 (Fall 2024 Class)

Nov. 8th

• Indigenous Veterans Day

Nov. 9th

• World Pneumonia Day

Nov. 11th

• Remembrance Day

Nov. 14th

• NSMHPCN Regional Conference

Nov. 19th

• National Grief and Bereavement Day

Nov. 25th

• International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Nov. 26th

• Essential Pain Management - Advanced Approaches to Manage Pain (AMP) session

Nov. 28th

• Hospice Orillia's Candles of Remembrance Ceremony

Nov. 30th

• Stomach Cancer Awareness Day

Air Date: 01-NOV-24

Topic of Discussion: Living with Parkinson's Disease at End-of-Life

Join our host, Lori Gill, NSMHPCN Education Specialist, and her guest Cathy McKeown, NSMHPCN PPSMC, for a review of the article End of life care of hospitalized patients with Parkinson disease: a retrospective analysis and brief review by Sakhi Bhansali, Ekhlas Assaedi, Jeryl Ritzi T. Yu, Nymisha Mandava, Claire Sonneborn, Olivia Hogue, Benjamin L. Walter, Renato V. Samala and Adam Margolius.

A Palliative Approach to Care in

Long-Term Care

A palliative approach in long-term care (LTC) empowers families and staff to deliver personalized, high-quality care to residents facing chronic and life-limiting illnesses. This approach facilitates a smooth transition from managing chronic diseases to appropriate end-of-life planning and care. We believe that palliative care is beneficial at any stage of a chronic illness, as it maximizes comfort and honours individuals’ wishes. By collaborating with health professionals and family members, residents with life-limiting or terminal illnesses are actively involved throughout their care journey. This approach emphasizes open and honest communication, ensuring that residents' personal, spiritual, and emotional needs are recognized and addressed.

Building Bridges Behind Bars

Date: Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025

Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Location: Zoom

Cost: Free

Join our host and special guest, Louise Brazier, Bereavement Services Coordinator, as they discuss the "Building Bridges Behind Bars" initiative. This initiative focuses on providing essential bereavement support to inmates and building capacity within correctional facilities. By addressing the unique challenges of delivering bereavement support to incarcerated individuals, the program aims to foster a compassionate approach that considers the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of this population.

Through collaborative learning and expert guidance, participants will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to build bridges of understanding and dignity in the correctional setting.

Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care

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

Fee: $250

Upcoming Offerings:

ESSENTIAL PAIN MANAGEMENT (EPM)

Over the course of six weeks, NSMHPCN Palliative Pain and Symptom Management Consultants (PPSMCs) will work with EPM learners to provide foundational knowledge and skills in pain assessment, management, and evaluation from a palliative care approach. The focus of the course is on the pharmacological management of pain, which can then be applied to practice.

The focus of this course is on the pharmacological management of pain. Pain assessment, management, and evaluation are foundational skills for nurses working in any practice setting. EPM aims to equip nurses with a foundational knowledge base and skills around pain management, from a palliative care approach, that can be applied to your practice.

Course Components:

EPM: You will have a minimum of six weeks to complete the course. To receive an EPM certificate, you must:

• complete the four modules online and
• attend one 90-minute, mandatory online coaching session.

OPTIONAL MODULE: Advanced Approaches to Manage Pain (AMP) Preparation

Following EPM, you will have automatic access to the online AMP Preparation Module to explore advanced pain management.

Following successful completion of the AMP Preparation module, and the AMP module quiz, you’ll earn your AMP Preparation badge. At this time, you will be able to attend the 3-hour AMP coaching session. To receive an AMP certificate, you must complete:

• the online AMP Preparation Module
• one mandatory 3-hour, AMP coaching session with case-based activities to practice your skills

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

Pre-requisite: None

Duration: Approximately 8 weeks

Fee: $40

Upcoming Offerings:

A Palliative Approach to Care with Dementia

Taking a palliative approach to care improves the quality of care provided and enhances the overall well-being of the person with dementia and their family and caregivers. However assessing and managing symptoms and ensuring the plan of care for someone living with dementia maintains their dignity and follows their wishes, goals, and values can be difficult when the disease reaches the stage where the person is not able to speak for themselves.

Course Overview:

This workshop’s learning objectives:

• Describe the prevalence and pathophysiology of the various types of dementia
• Better support the person living with dementia and their family/caregivers through end of life
• Understand some of the commonly used medications in dementia
• Understand specialized tools available for symptom assessment and management in dementia

Education specific to dementia for health care professionals allows for:

• Better symptom management as symptom assessment and management is more complex in the context of cognitive impairment
• Improved communication between family/caregivers and health care professionals by giving health care professionals strategies for facilitating open and honest discussions about condition, prognosis, and end-of-life preferences
• Effective interdisciplinary collaboration to tailor the plan of care to the unique needs of each patient and their family/caregivers living with dementia
• Increased caregiver support by better recognizing their unique needs and providing resources, education, and support during an extended illness journey that can place a significant burden on family caregivers
• Improved coping skills for healthcare professionals to promote resiliency and minimize the risk of burnout

Upcoming Offerings:

Canadian Serious Illness Conversations (CSIC)

This program equips healthcare professionals with the skills to have compassionate and effective conversations with patients, families, and caregivers facing serious illness. Focusing on person-centred values, goals, and wishes, these conversations help reduce confusion and ensure that care decisions align with what matters most to the individual. The training includes a self-learning module and a facilitated session, guiding professionals in the use of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide developed by Ariadne Labs and Pallium Canada.

Duration: Approximately 5 months

Fee: FREE

Request a Speaker for Palliative Education

To request a speaker for a presentation at your organization or service group, we invite you to complete the online request form which can be accessed using the button below. Alternatively, you may contact Lori Gill, Education Specialist, directly via email at lori@nsmhpcn.ca.

Not sure where to begin your palliative education journey?

Recommended order:

• Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care (FHPC)

• Advance Palliative Practice Skills (APPS)

• Comprehensive Advanced Palliative Care Education (CAPCE)

In no particular order:

• A Palliative Approach to Care with Dementia

• Canadian Serious Illness Conversations (CSIC)

• Death Cafe

• ECHO Palliative Care Project

• Essential Pain Management (EPM)

• Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP)

• Pills, Pumps & Patches: The Pharmacologic Management of Pain in Palliative Patients