Course Code: REL-PAC-ELNEC-CMPALNUR
Hours: 1
Type: Online Course
Content Expiration Date: 12/31/2029
Learning Objectives:
Recall the philosophy and principles of hospice and palliative care that can be integrated across settings to affect quality care for individuals with serious illness.
Recognize the physiological, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and social domains of care and their effect on quality of life for patients with serious illness and their family caregivers.
Identify how health disparities, population demographics, healthcare economics, and service delivery necessitate improved professional preparation for palliative care and impact the nurse’s role.
Outline:
Section 1: An Overview of Serious Illness
Course Overview
Serious Illness in the U.S.
Consider Aimee Longworth
Reflection
Nursing and Palliative Care
Recognition of the Specialty of Palliative Care and Hospice
Serious Illness in America: Impacts on Care
Trajectories of Serious Illness
Sudden Death
Steady Decline
Chronic Illness
Progressive Deterioration
Review
Evaluating Treatment Options
Caregiving and Its Toll
Reflection
Vulnerable Populations
Key Takeaways
Section 2: Palliative and Hospice Care
What Are Palliative and Hospice Care?
Palliative Care
Hospice Care
The Continuum of Care in Serious Illness
Palliative Care Versus Hospice
Benefits of Palliative Care: Pivotal Studies
An Example of the Benefits of Palliative Care
Review: Patient Appropriateness for Palliative Care or Hospice
Payment for Services
Palliative Care
Hospice Care
Review
What Is Quality Palliative Care?
Road Map to Quality
Barriers to Quality Palliative Care
Barriers in Healthcare
Barriers in Clinical Practice
Lessons Learned in Managing Barriers
Reflection
Stop and Consider
Palliative Care Across the Care Continuum
Palliative Care in the Critical Care Setting
Goal of Palliative Care in the ED or Intensive Care Unit
Palliative Care in ICU
Key Takeaways
Section 3: Improving Quality of Life
Domains of Quality-of-Life Model
Stop and Consider
Review
Fostering Hope While Planning
Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst
Attending to Spiritual and Cultural Needs
Prognostication
Your Role as a Nurse
Listening
Key Takeaways
Section 4: Conclusion
Course Summary
Course Information
Course Contributors
Resources
References
Subject Matter Expert: 2026 ELNEC Core Series
The content for this course was written by The ELNEC Project Team.
The ELNEC Project, which began in 2000, is a collaboration between City of Hope, Duarte, CA and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), Washington, DC. For more information about ELNEC, go to www.aacnnursing.org/ELNEC
The content for this course was revised by Constance Dahlin, MSN, ANP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN, FAAN.
Constance Dahlin has focused her career within hospice and palliative care. Connie serves as national faculty for the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC). She has practiced palliative care across the health continuum: home, clinic, long-term care, rehabilitation, and acute care settings. She has administered hospice, home health, and palliative care programs. She has created education for program development, academic curricula, and interprofessional team education.
Currently, Ms. Dahlin is a palliative nurse practitioner at MGB Salem Hospital. She is faculty at University of Maryland Baltimore PhD, MS, and Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care. She is a consultant and senior nurse advisor to the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) with a focus on community-based care and education. She is co-director of the Palliative APP Externship at the Medical University of South Carolina. She serves on the American Hospital Association Circle of Life Award Committee, the Massachusetts Network for Community-Based Care, and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Cancer Steering Committee.
Ms. Dahlin has authored many peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and curricula. She has presented nationally and internationally. Ms. Dahlin is co-editor of the Oxford University Press Advanced Practice Palliative Nursing 1st and 2nd editions. She edited and authored four editions of the Palliative Nursing: Scope and Standards and three editions of the Competencies for the Palliative and Hospice RN, and APRN. She wrote the Hospice and Palliative APRN Professional Practice Guide and A Primer of Reimbursement, Billing, and Coding: Essential Information for the Hospice and Palliative APRN. She referenced the 2004 first education of the National Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Palliative Care and edited the 2009 and 2013 editions.
Ms. Dahlin is a Fellow of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a 2005 Certified ACHPN APRN of the year, a 2016 Sojourns Cambia Health Foundation Sojourns Leadership Scholar Award Recipient, a 2018 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Visionary in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the 2020 Hospice and Palliative Nursing Association Distinguished Practice Award and the 2021 University of Maryland Baltimore Program in Palliative Care Teacher of the Year. She completed her MSN in oncology nursing and her post-masters in adult primary care at the MGH Institute of Health Professions.
Target Audience:
The target audience for this course is: Advanced Practice Nurses; Nursing Personnel; in the following settings: Hospice.
Relias Learning will be transparent in disclosing if any commercial support, sponsorship or co-providership is present prior to the learner completing the course.
Relias Learning has a grievance policy in place to facilitate reports of dissatisfaction. Relias Learning will make every effort to resolve each grievance in a mutually satisfactory manner. In order to report a complaint or grievance please contact Relias Learning at support@reliaslearning.com.
All courses offered by Relias Learning, LLC are developed from a foundation of diversity, inclusiveness, and a multicultural perspective. Knowledge, values and awareness related to cultural competency are infused throughout the course content.
To earn continuing education credit for this course you must achieve a passing score of 80% on the post-test and complete the course evaluation.
Course Delivery Method and Format
Asynchronous Distance Learning with interactivity which includes quizzes with questions/answers, and posttests.