Course Code: REL-PAC-ELNEC-CMLGBRV
Hours: 1.25
Type: Online Course
Content Expiration Date: 12/31/2029
Learning Objectives:
Differentiate between loss, mourning, and bereavement.
Categorize grief as acute, normal, anticipatory, complicated, or disenfranchised.
Name bereavement support interventions.
Identify strategies to mitigate the impact of cumulative loss on professional caregivers and strategies for their well-being.
Outline:
Section 1: Overview of Loss, Grief, and Bereavement
Loss: A Universal Experience
Scenarios of Loss
Serious Illness and Grief
Exercise
The Nurse’s Role in Supporting Patients and Caregivers
Reflection
Suffering
Sexuality: An Unrecognized Loss
Consider This
Gen Silent, The LGBT Aging Documentary: Official Trailer
Reflection
Review
Key Takeaways
Section 2: Grief: Process, Definitions, and Assessment
The Grief Process
Dimensions of Grief
Grief Assessment
Types of Grief
Normal Grief
Acute Grief
Anticipatory Grief
Complicated Grief
Disenfranchised Grief
Factors Affecting the Grief Process
Children’s Grief
Considering Risks for Complicated Grief in Children
Needs of Patients and Family Caregivers
Shared Needs
Patient-Specific Needs
Caregiver-Specific Needs
Supporting the Grieving Process
Caregiving
Case Study
Grief Assessment
Caring for the Caregiver
Everyone Has a Story
Reflection
Bereavement
Mourning
Key Takeaways
Section 3: The Survivor
Bereavement Care
Screening
Quality Bereavement Care
Key Factors to Assess in the Bereaved Survivor
Listen to Their Story
Two Common Questions
Speaking with the Bereaved Person
Avoid False Empathy
Avoid Vague Offers of Help
Avoid Minimizing the Grief Process
Avoid Minimizing the Significance of the Loss
Addressing Bereavement
Bereavement Related to Children
Completion of the Grieving Process
Reflection
Your Organization
Your Role
Review
Key Takeaways
Section 4: Care for the Professional
Intensity of Palliative Care
Reflection
Wellness and Self-Care
Cumulative Loss
The Nature of Nursing Work
Moral Injury
Moral Distress
Compassion Fatigue
Burnout
Reflection
Elements of Self-Care
Self-Reflection
Self-Efficacy
Body Monitoring
Well-Being Planning
Self-Care Pearls
Reflection Exercise
Consider This
Key Takeaways
Section 5: 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.
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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.