I am honoured to share my Fall 2021 newsletter including resources for individuals and families of all ages facing a complex illness, following diagnosis through to bereavement. I am also grateful to also share my teaching experiences including: undergraduate and graduate Social Work Education; undergraduate Medical Education; and Interprofessional Education for healthcare providers exploring informed conversations, honouring person and family-centred care, demystifying grief, and advocating for palliative care.
Myths about Palliative Care
It is so important to demystify the incredible scope and breadth of Palliative and end of life Care. For National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada (May 2nd- 8th), I am re-posting a great resource from CVH - an incredible source of evidence-informed Hospice Palliative Care resources for individuals, families, healthcare providers or volunteers serving anyone facing life-limiting illness, grief and bereavement.
An infographic about 10 myths that are often encountered in Palliative Care (also available in French, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, Chinese, Cree, Hebrew, Inuinnaqtun, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Tagalog).
Source: Canadian Virtual Hospice
Demystifying Hospice Palliative Care is essential!
National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada is May 2nd-8th, 2021.
Proactive and equitable access to Hospice Palliative Care is not standard, with barriers (including a lack of education, funding and research) contributing to the myths that impact delivering high-quality person and family-centred collaborative care. Integrated support for loss, grief and bereavement is lacking.
Did you know....
-Between 62% and 89% of those who die could benefit from palliative care, including nearly everyone who does not die unexpectedly
- 51% of the children who died in 2012 only received Paediatric Palliative Care for the last 30 days of their lives
-62% of Canadians who received palliative care did so in an acute care hospital in their last month of life
-Few Canadians (15%) have early access to palliative care in the community
-80% of the time, palliative care was provided during admission was unplanned or through an emergency department
-Canadians between the ages of 45 and 74 are more likely than younger adults and older seniors to receive palliative care
-There are ~88 residential hospices and the majority require a prognosis of <3 months to be admitted
Source: CHPCA Fact Sheet 2021
For more information, please visit the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
How Equity-Oriented is Palliative Care?
Join us for the free (online) Elizabeth J. Latimer Lecture in Palliative Care "How Equity-Oriented is Palliative Care" with the extraordinary Dr. Kelli Stajduhar.
The 17th Annual Innovations in Palliative Care Virtual Conference
Join us for the (online) 17th Annual Innovations in Palliative Care Virtual Conference, a collaboration between the Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University and Pallium Canada
Excited to be on Faculty for Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) McMaster
Excited to be on Faculty for this exciting collaboration. Join us for this Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (#LEAP) #CPD!
Pallium Canada and the Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University have partnered to create a unique #online #learning opportunity for #healthcare professionals.
This is a unique #opportunity to continue learning about the #palliative care approach. The #workshop addresses contemporary topics of relevance to care providers across many care settings including #hospital, #community and #residential care, as well as special challenges encountered during transitions in care.
These #workshops are ideal for any health care professional (e.g. #Physician, #Nurse, #SocialWorker, #Pharmacist, etc.) who would like continued learning on the #PalliativeCare approach.
Session topics include:
- Recap of the Palliative Care Approach
- Unique Situations
- Transitions in Long-Term Care
- In-Depth Conversations
- Advanced Liver and Heart Diseases
- Kidney and Neurological Diseases
In recognition of the hard work of health care professionals throughout the #COVID19 pandemic, the price for these sessions has been reduced.
Visit: https://pallium.myshopify.com/collections/palliative-care-in-depth-workshop
C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting Newsletter Winter 2021
Honoured to share my Winter 2021 newsletter including resources for individuals and families of all ages facing a complex illness, from diagnosis through to bereavement. Grateful to also share undergraduate and graduate Social Work education, along with medical education and interprofessional education for healthcare providers demystifying palliative care.
In support of Movember, a free webinar demystifying Advance Care Planning for Men with Prostate Cancer
In support of Movember Canada & TrueNTH, am sharing a free webinar demystifying Advance Care Planning for Men with Prostate Cancer.
Facing prostate cancer is difficult enough. But advance care planning (ACP) can give your loved ones the confidence and peace of mind to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to communicate for yourself. This webinar will provide information about why ACP is important, and a step-by-step guide to advance care planning.
The purpose of this workshop is to:
- Provide an overview of ACP
- Foster understanding as to why ACP is important for anyone facing prostate cancer,
- Help men with prostate cancer, their partners and families learn the steps involved in the ACP process, and how to start these conversations,
- Explore some free ACP resources from Advance Care Planning Canada
The free webinar can be accessed via https://vimeo.com/189996475
C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting 2020 Newsletter
Living with Added Uncertainty and Isolation
Due to COVID-19, many people are experiencing an additional sense of grief and loss when faced with a cancer diagnosis. How can people with cancer and their loved ones tend to these difficult feelings during this time? Honoured to have offered Living with Added Uncertainty and Isolation for the CANCER AND COVID-19 WEBINAR SERIES for the Canadian Cancer Society.
In this free webinar, we discuss how COVID-19 has impacted the experience of uncertainty and isolation for people living with cancer and their loved ones, along with some strategies to address thoughts and feelings and some available free resources.
COVID-19 Response – Free, Online Palliative Care Modules from Pallium Canada
Enhance your knowledge, skills, and practice in providing high-quality palliative care with these free, self-directed modules.
Pallium, in collaboration with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), is providing access to essential education on palliative care for all health care professionals in response to this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. In these difficult times, it is more important than ever that all health care providers are equipped with the essential skills to provide compassionate, palliative care to patients in need.
Available modules
These modules are self-directed and completed at your own pace:
Taking Ownership
Advance Care Planning
Decision-Making
Managing Dyspnea
Palliative Sedation
Last Days and Hours
Additional Information
Pallium and CMA are making these 6 Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) modules available online for free to all health care professionals for 3 months (March 30 – June 30, 2020). These modules will help provide health care teams with an introduction to the palliative care approach focused on the important knowledge and skills required during the COVID-19 pandemic response. The modules are currently only available in English.
The Pallium Palliative Pocketbook can be found here. This best-selling book is a practical, one-stop resource with easily accessible information to help non-specialist physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers provide a palliative care approach when needed.
Additional learning opportunities to help you expand your knowledge in palliative care can be found on Our Courses page, including our newly available LEAP Online course.
Have any questions? Email anytime at: info@pallium.ca
Source: Pallium Canada
Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (RENAL)
So wonderful facilitating Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) - RENAL for the Nephrology Fellows at McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences with my incredible colleagues from the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University.
Pallium Canada offers award-winning Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) courses providing practical, inter-professional and evidence-based training and tools in the palliative care approach across multiple health care settings and specialty areas. Source: Pallium Canada
For information on LEAP courses, visit: https://www.pallium.ca/courses/
C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting December 2019 Newsletter
Excited to share my December 2019 newsletter with an update about free resources and community support for anyone facing serious illness, uncertainty and grief. Am also grateful to share recent teaching opportunities across Interprofessional Education, dedicated Social Work Education, a grief conference and two national webinars.
As always, I share free resources and information across my Social Media platforms. Please connect and follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Caring for the Caregiver: Recognizing the Impact of Vicarious Trauma on Helpers and Strategies for Self-Care
Am truly honoured to be offering the Plenary Session “Caring for the Caregiver: Recognizing the Impact of Vicarious Trauma on Helpers and Strategies for Self-Care“ for the Annual Children’s Grief Awareness Symposium at Lighthouse Centre for Grieving Children, Youth and Families.
For information or to register, please visit: https://www.grievingchildrenlighthouse.org/index.php/news-and-events/upcoming-events/104-events/upcoming-events/events-2019/482-grief-symposium-2019#live-session-descriptions
About the Lighthouse Centre for Grieving Children, Youth and Families:
“The Lighthouse provides a place where children, teens, and their parents and guardians who have experienced a life changing death loss can come together to be part of a community. Through participation in facilitated peer groups, they find understanding, stability and support.
Any child or teen, ages 3-19, who has experienced the death of an immediate family member or very close friend can join a group. Parents and guardians are welcome to attend the adult peer support groups which are offered at the same time as the children/teen groups.
Often, family members feel the need to protect one other from their feelings. At The Lighthouse, children and youth have their own space where they can feel safe to share their feelings with peers who have also experienced a life changing death. This expression of feelings, thoughts and experiences helps them reach an understanding of their loss and builds hope and encouragement for their future.”
Source: Lighthouse
To donate to the Lighthouse Centre for Grieving Children, Youth and Families, please visit: https://www.grievingchildrenlighthouse.org/index.php/support-us
Death Cafe for healthcare professionals, health science students or healthcare volunteers
Excited to be facilitating another Death Cafe for the Division of Palliative Care, McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University.
If you are a Healthcare Provider, Health Science Student, Hospice Palliative Care Volunteer or Funeral Service Employee, this Death Cafe is specifically for you!
A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. The objective is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'. Source: Death Cafe
Please join us at this FREE event at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre on Wednesday, July 24th from 6-8pm as part of our Public Health Palliative Care Elective.
Please help spread the word. While the event is free, registration is required via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/death-cafe-tickets-62361840945?fbclid=IwAR2aqlWTC8CcDPU4TKspXU3hZC65Om4ZxZZikvgh9ztqz3TEUe9GJcFLJ00
#BustingTheMyths about Hospice Palliative Care
It’s Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada.
The campaign (May 5th – 11th) this year focuses on #BustingTheMyths about Hospice Palliative Care
This year, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) designed a “Busting the Myths” campaign as a response to the need to educate Canadians including caregivers, physicians and all healthcare providers, citizens and political leaders around common myths about hospice palliative care.
The #BustingTheMyths campaign aims to empower Canadians through education by identifying and clarifying misperceptions about Hospice Palliative Care in Canada.
Working together to educate one another is a vital step in the pursuit of excellent Hospice PalliativeCare.
Source: CHPCA Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
Talking About Death Won't Kill You: The 100% Certainty Project
"Most of us are ill-prepared to face what lies ahead. In a death-denying society, how do we ready ourselves for our human fate? How do we prepare for the end of our lives?
To this end, The 100% Certainty Project uses books to spark dialogue amongst citizens with the hope that grassroots efforts begin to build the social fabric we all will need at end-of-life. The project attempts to de-medicalize the experience of death & dying and engage community agencies and activists. We encourage the public to read and talk about books – books with themes of death, dying, bereavement, and loss. By facilitating conversation at dining room tables, in coffee shops and on street corners across Greater Hamilton and beyond, this reading initiative aims to increase public awareness about death & dying and lessen society’s discomfort facing death." Source: The 100% Certainty Project
Please join us for the first in a series of FREE public events. As part of the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University with McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences, and our "The 100% Certainty Project. Death: Something to Talk About" initiative, together with Heart House Hospice, am honoured to co-host and moderate this event at the Mississauga Library with my brilliant friend and colleague Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller. While the event is free, registration is required via the Mississauga Public Library at (905) 615 4835.
In support of National Hospice Palliative Care Week, we'll hear about her experiences as a parent and spouse facing a cancer diagnosis, as a Social Worker in Palliative Care and as an academic researcher and educator. At this event, Kathy will share her insight and explore some of the big questions about living and dying. We'll also open up the conversation to the audience - questions are welcome. Please email questions in advance to our "100% Certainty" email address: talkaboutdeath100@gmail.com or, join us and ask Dr. Kortes-Miller directly. Her book "Talking About Death Won't Kill You. The Essential Guide to End-of-Life Conversations" will also be on sale at each event.
Please join us for this FREE public event. As part of the Division of Palliative Care with McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences, and our "The 100% Certainty Project. Death: Something to Talk About", am honoured to co-host and moderate this event at the Hamilton Public Library with my brilliant friend and colleague Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller. While the event is free, registration is required via Eventbrite
Please join us for this final evening in our series of FREE public events. As part of the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences, and our "The 100% Certainty Project. Death: Something to Talk About", together with Carpenter Hospice, am honoured to co-host and moderate this event at the Burlington Public Library with my brilliant friend and colleague Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller. While the event is free, registration is required via the Burlington Public Library at (905) 639 3611.
EXPLORING GRIEF AND LOSS LITERACY: SUPPORTING AND EMPOWERING SCHOOL COMMUNITIES
Am thrilled to be offering a full-day of training on Feb. 1st for the Halton District School Board on “EXPLORING GRIEF AND LOSS LITERACY: SUPPORTING AND EMPOWERING SCHOOL COMMUNITIES”
Will be honoured to be present with so many professionals as we spend the day exploring:
- Grief and Loss Literacy (related to dying, death and non-death losses)
- Stigma Related to Illness, Dying, Grief
- The Dialogue of Loss
- Support Across School Communities
- Promoting Capacity & Engagement
- Opportunities for Self-Care
Looking forward to sharing some brilliant resources!
End Game Documentary and Discussion
Excited to co-host and participate on the panel for the launch of the 2018-9 season of "The 100% Certainty Project. Death: Something to Talk About". Join us for a screening of the Netflix documentary, "END GAME" followed by a conversation with Palliative Care clinicians.
Our free public event at McMaster University features the brilliant documentary "End Game" from Shoshana Ungerleider, MD highlighting the essential tenets of Hospice Palliative Care. The film showcases the collaboration, compassion and communication as the heart of person and family-centred care at UCSF Medical Center with Steven Pantilat and the extraordinary interprofessional team. The film also highlights the brilliant work of Zen Hospice Project, showcasing Dr. BJ Miller and the extraordinary interprofessional team in Hospice.
Please join us for this engaging event! While the event is free, registration is required via Eventbrite via https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/end-game-documentary-and-discussion-tickets-50535681584
Almost all Canadians would benefit from palliative care. Only one in seven can actually access it at end-of-life
“The key to providing decent palliative care is a little bit of basic planning. Four conditions – cancer, cardiovascular disease, COPD (lung disease) and diabetes – account for 70 per cent of deaths.
Those chronic conditions all have fairly predictable courses of illness in the terminal phase. You don’t get diagnosed with lung cancer or heart failure one day and die the next. It’s a months-long process and providing pain relief (palliation) should be standard, and a priority.
Two in three people receive home care in their last year of life. But only one in seven receive palliative care in the home.
That’s the failure point – and that’s what we need to fix.
There needs to be a commitment – philosophical and financial – to bringing palliative care to patients when they need it and where they want it.
Not everyone can (or should) be cared for at home in their final days. It’s back-breaking, emotionally-draining work for loved ones. Yet many would do so willingly and lovingly.
But they run up against a gross number of barriers, ranging from difficultly getting home visits from physicians (who are poorly remunerated for that work in many provinces), lack of nursing support (because of caps on home care hours), and absurd rules that mean drugs taken at home are not covered by medicare.
All the problems raised by the CIHI report are easily resolved. For example, having paramedics provide palliative care can eliminate transfers to hospitals. Sending doctors and nurses to homes or nursing homes can free up hospital beds – and save money in the process. Not to mention that, at the very least, people deserve a modicum of dignity in their dying days.
The whole point of palliative care is to improve quality of life. We shouldn’t let bureaucratic and structural inadequacies undermine that necessary and noble work.“ by the brilliant André Picard via The Globe and Mail