Hospice & Palliative Care

Speakers: Timothy W. Kirk, PhD, HEC-C
Ethics Consultant
MJHS Hospice & Palliative Care
Professor of Philosophy, City University of New York

Purpose: Over half of the 1.5+ million people receiving hospice care in the U.S. each year live in a private residence. While most hospice patients prefer to receive care and die in their own homes, this can be challenging for patients who live alone without family, friends, or paid caregivers to attend to them as their physical and cognitive function declines. Assessing and mitigating the perceived risks of harm for such patients can be a source of moral distress for hospice clinicians, who often struggle with a strong but fuzzy sense of obligation to “manage” these risks. This webinar explains the concepts of “dignity or risk,” “positive risk-taking,” and "dignity conserving care,” and applies them to caring for hospice patients who live alone.

Objectives:  

1. Describe ethical challenges in caring for hospice patients who live alone
2. Explain the concepts of “dignity of risk,” “positive risk-taking,” and “dignity conserving care”
3. Apply the concepts to caring for hospice patients who live alone
4. Explore the opportunities for, and barriers to, reframing “risk” in home hospice care

Target Audience: Primary care providers, nurse practitioners, palliative care specialists, pain specialists, registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, registered nurses with a specialty in palliative care/hospice, social workers, allied health professionals, fellows, residents, and medical students

Criteria for Successful Completion:

1. Attendance at entire session
2. Submission of completed evaluation form
3. Successful completion of a posttest; 80% passing grade (mandatory to receive CE credit for social workers)

Continuing Education Credits: 1.0

Continuing Education Accreditation

Nurses: The MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Northeast Multistate Division Education Unit, an accredited approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Social Workers: MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0242.

Fees:
Free (includes CE certificate)

Release Date: June 16, 2022

Expiration Date: April 17, 2024 (for nurses); January 31, 2025 (for NYS Social Workers)

Disclosures:

Timothy W. Kirk, PhD, HEC-C, has no financial arrangements or affiliations with any commercial entities whose products, research, or services may be discussed in these materials. Any discussion of investigational or unlabeled uses of a product will be identified.

No Planning Committee Member has financial disclosures.

Planning Committee Members
Lara Dhingra, PhD
Myra Glajchen, DSW
Helena Knotkova, PhD
Joyce Palmieri, MS, RN, CHPN
Russell K. Portenoy, MD
Karen Richards, PhD, EdS
Wini Schein, BA

Funding Disclosure: No commercial funding has been accepted for the activity.

Location: Online at https://www.mjhspalliativeinstitute.org/e-learning/