Introduction to Palliative Care

Recorded Webinar
Instructor: Jennifer J. Halpern, Ph.D., LMSW, APHSW-C  
CEs: 1.5 
Level: Intermediate
Target Audience: Social workers and other social service providers.
Course Delivery Method and Format: Recorded webinar, self study. All courses are hosted on SmithOnline. Login information will be emailed immediately after registration to the email address entered during registration.
System Requirements: Attendees will need access to a computer with internet and the capability to play recorded videos.

Date of original webinar: July 22, 2020

Palliative care—succinctly defined as a team-based approach to symptom management at any stage of a life-threatening illness, focused on quality-of-life for the whole person and their family or caregivers—is a philosophy of care and practice. Set against a backdrop of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this webinar is particularly timely as the public is experiencing the immense tragedy of losing loved ones who are passing away in isolation. This introduction will reveal how palliative care returns the values of the patient and the full range of comfort back to the forefront of medicine.   

Trained palliative social workers are in high demand; it’s estimated that while about 8 percent of all hospital admissions could benefit from palliative care, between 1-1.8 million patients are not receiving it (Rogers & Dumanovsky, 2017). We will discuss the history of palliative care/hospice services, including social work. Discussing the myths and the truths surrounding this field will clarify the distinctions between palliative care, hospice and comfort care and will provide a lens on some of the social justice issues affecting this part of medical care.

We’ll review some of the numerous roles for passionate palliative/hospice social workers. We will introduce social worker’s role in the micro, meso and macro levels of health-related organizations and the community and will discuss how the experienced practitioner is likely to incorporate all of these approaches. Opportunities exist for palliative social workers for every major disease type and for generalists and for working with children through seniors. Finally, we’ll discuss becoming involved in the field.

Registration Fee and Deadlines:

Fee: $35 (one time registration fee $5) | Ongoing  

Learning Objectives:

1. Define palliative care with reference to its core philosophy.
2. Differentiate between palliative care, hospice and comfort care.
3. Describe at least three major roles of the hospice/palliative social worker.
4. List examples of hospice/palliative social work on the micro, meso and macro levels.

Outline:

• Definition palliative care
• Brief history of palliative care and hospice
• Domains of practice
• Difference between palliative care and hospice
• Distinguishing between hospice and comfort care in the hospital
• Principles of palliative care
• The range of palliative care practice: from early integration through death and bereavement.
• Myths and truths
• Social and racial disparities in accessing palliative care and hospice
• What are some roles for hospice/palliative social workers?
• (TEAR: Teamwork, education, advocacy, referral)
• Working with individuals, families, MD’s and nurses as a team, and advocating for the profession within the hospital and the community.
• Micro, meso, macro areas
• Be prepared to deal with illness, death, trauma—and joy, gratitude and love.
• How to get involved with the field

Instructor Biography:

Jennifer Halpern, Ph.D., LMSW, APHSW-C, is a senior certified palliative social worker at the Oncology Support Program (OSP) of the HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, working with inpatients and outpatients. She is the Psychosocial Coordinator for the hospital’s Cancer Committee and Chair of the Ethics Committee. She developed the Curriculum Guide for the APHSW certification exam as SWHPN’s Educational Consultant. Halpern received her doctorate in social psychology/organizational behavior from UC Berkeley, and was an assistant professor at Cornell University.