Gain tools to help your patients, clients, parishioners, family or friends deal with grief.

Objectives

1. Describe the ways that spiritual issues and spiritual coping may emerge throughout an illness and assess the ways that spirituality can complicate and facilitate end-of-life care and grief.
2. Describe the importance of spiritual assessment and demonstrate competency in spiritual assessment by describing varied approaches to spiritual assessment as well as sensitivities that should be considered in doing assessments, and themes that might emerge from a spiritual assessment.
3. Discuss and evaluate approaches to meaning-making at the end of life including reminiscence and life review, and dignity enhancement approaches.
4. Describe approaches toward helping clients utilize and enhance spiritual coping as they cope with end-of life issues, including spiritual practices, rituals, beliefs, and faith communities.
5. Define and acknowledge spiritual counter-transference.
6. Demonstrate sensitivities to the particular concerns of major faith systems toward end-of-life care.
7. Define spirituality and differentiate it from religion.

Panelists

• Norma J. Hirsch, MD, chief medical officer, HCI Care Services
• Rev. Sara Schnucker Rice, executive director, Des Moines Religious Council
• Nancy Carlson, RN, parish nurse, Sacred Heart Parish & Catholic School
• J. Jeffrey Means, MS, MDiv, PhD, chair, behavioral medicine, Des Moines University

Sponsors

This activity is co-sponsored by Des Moines University and HCI Care Services, formerly called Hospice of Central Iowa.