Hospice and Palliative Nursing: Symptom Support and Goals of Care

Course Purpose

In nursing practice, understanding the nuances of hospice and palliative care is paramount for providing compassionate and effective support to patients and their families This course explores how palliative care directly addresses the discomfort, symptoms, and stress associated with serious illness, focusing on relief rather than cure.

Continuing Education Credit Designation

This educational activity is credited for 4 contact hours at completion of the activity.

Overview

This course is designed for nurses seeking to deepen their understanding of critical aspects of end-of-life care. Nurses will learn to distinguish between palliative care and hospice care, considering their timing, eligibility criteria, and available treatment options. The course will also equip nurses to explain that palliative care can be offered alongside curative treatments, commencing as early as a diagnosis. This foundational knowledge is essential for effective communication and patient advocacy in complex care settings.

Objectives

Upon completion of this independent study, the learner will be able to:

1. Distinguish palliative care from hospice care by timing, eligibility and available treatment options.
2. Explain that palliative care may be given with or without curative care and may begin at diagnosis.
3. Name the symptoms palliative care exists to relieve and describe how each is assessed and reported.
4. Differentiate acute, breakthrough and chronic pain and report each in terms a prescriber can act on.
5. State the scale of unmet palliative care need worldwide and the access barriers that produce it.
6. List the Medicare hospice eligibility conditions, including the six-month certification and the election statement.
7. Identify what the hospice benefit covers, what it excludes, and what room and board means for families.
8. Explain respite care and the fact that hospice can be left and later resumed.
9. Structure a goals-of-care conversation around what the patient wants to know and who decides.
10. Describe advance directives, including the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care.
11. Explain why documented conversations matter, using evidence on surrogate accuracy and outcomes.
12. Identify the members of the hospice and palliative teams and route needs to the right one.

Who this course is for:

Healthcare professionals who want continuing education on Hospice and Palliative Nursing: Symptom Support and Goals of Care.

Course outline

12 sections · finish in any order across devices

1. 1

   Course overview and learning objectives

2. 2

   Introduction

3. 3

   Palliative Care and Hospice: Two Words That Are Not Synonyms

4. 4

   The Symptoms Palliative Care Exists to Relieve

5. 5

   Pain: Describing It Well Enough to Treat It

6. 6

   Unmet Need and Access: Why So Many People Never Receive This Care

7. 7

   The Hospice Benefit: What It Covers and How Eligibility Works

8. 8

   Goals of Care Conversations and the Nurse's Part in Them

9. 9

   Advance Care Planning and Advance Directives

10. 10

    The Last Weeks: Comfort, Family Support and After the Death

11. 11

    Nursing Considerations

12. 12

    Conclusion

This Course Satisfies

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. All Users of Cheap CE For Nurses’s website and content are responsible for knowing their state’s license and renewal requirements.

Questions about this course

How many contact hours is Hospice and Palliative Nursing: Symptom Support and Goals of Care?

4 contact hours, credited at completion.

How much does it cost?

$20.00 on its own, or included with All-Access ($29.99 a year, renewing yearly until you cancel).

Can I listen instead of reading?

Yes — every section can be read or heard, on your phone or computer.

When do I get my certificate?

As soon as you finish the course requirements and the evaluation. It stays in your account.

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