Supporting Families and Caregivers

This course is part of Palliative Care Always Specialization

Instructors: Kavitha Ramchandran

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5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

44 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

44 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Describe several interventions to help with the emotions and coping of being a family member or caregiver of someone with serious illness.
Conduct a basic screen for appropriate adjustment in children.
Define caregiver burden and how to screen for it.

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Assessments

12 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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This course is part of the Palliative Care Always Specialization

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There are 5 modules in this course

This course takes a deep dive into the challenges families and friends of a patient with serious illness face and how you can care for and support them as a provider, social worker or family friend. Supporting Families and Caregivers especially focuses on the children of a patient with serious illness and their caregiver, and teaches you the best way to empower them to get the support they need. By the end of this course, you will be able to provide critical avenues of support for the people who are instrumental to your patients care, wellbeing and quality of life.

Stanford Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Visit the FAQs below for important information regarding 1) Date of original release and Termination or expiration date; 2) Accreditation and Credit Designation statements; 3) Disclosure of financial relationships for every person in control of activity content.

Welcome to Supporting Families and Caregiver, the fourth course in the Palliative Care Always specialization. This course takes a deep dive into the challenges families and friends of a patient with serious illness face and how you can care for and support them as a provider, social worker or family friend. Supporting Families and Caregivers focuses especially on the children of a patient with serious illness and their caregiver, and teaches you the best way to empower them to get the support they need. By the end of this course, you will be able to provide critical avenues of support for the people who are instrumental to your patients care, wellbeing and quality of life. This module will provide you with information on the course structure and first steps.

What's included

3 readings2 assignments

This module provides a review of the key concepts learned in the courses Essentials of Palliative Care, Symptom Management in Palliative Care, and Transitions in Care from Survivorship to Hospice. We realize that some learners are interested in only completing specific courses while others are moving through the entire specialization. The following videos are meant as a review for those who have not completed the other courses. You are not required to watch these videos if you feel you have a strong handle on the material. You can check your knowledge with the ungraded quiz in the next section and review the summary videos if necessary. Also contained in this module are the Sarah case study videos from Essentials of Palliative Care, Symptom Management in Palliative Care, and Transitions in Care from Survivorship to Hospice for those who want to review her story.

What's included

18 videos3 readings1 assignment

18 videosTotal 170 minutes

Basics of Palliative Care16 minutes
Communication Skills15 minutes
Psychosocial Support4 minutes
Goals of Care/Advance Care Planning4 minutes
Symptom Management4 minutes
Transitions in Care7 minutes
A New Diagnosis6 minutes
Visit with a Palliative Care Social Worker11 minutes
Goals of Care Visit5 minutes
Visit with Palliative Physician11 minutes
Visit with Palliative APN13 minutes
Emotions and Coping12 minutes
Visit with a Survivorship Nurse Part 114 minutes
Visit with a Survivorship Nurse Part 215 minutes
Delivering News of Recurrence4 minutes
Spiritual Care Visit9 minutes
A Transition in Care7 minutes
Hospice Visit11 minutes

3 readingsTotal 12 minutes

Key Concepts in Palliative Care1 minute
Key Concepts in Palliative Care1 minute
Meet Sarah Foster10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 10 minutes

Palliative Care Knowledge Check10 minutes

Clinicians can support families experiencing cancer by regularly assessing both the child’s adjustment and the parents’ ability and confidence in helping their children cope. Child and family guidance professionals can act as a resource. This module will review basic screening and assessment of child adjustment, and offer practical strategies to help families talk about difficult topics and maintain a sense of normalcy during serious illness.

What's included

5 videos7 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt

5 videosTotal 36 minutes

Caring for Jesse15 minutes
Message for Jesse3 minutes
Children Touched by Illness7 minutes
Tips and Strategies7 minutes
Making the Most of Today and Planning Forward3 minutes

7 readingsTotal 33 minutes

Scenes with Sarah2 minutes
Optional Case Study5 minutes
A Message to Jesse1 minute
Introduction to Child and Family Guidance3 minutes
Bereaved Children10 minutes
References and Additional Reading10 minutes
Module Resources2 minutes

4 assignmentsTotal 54 minutes

Module 3 Assessment14 minutes
Optional Case Study Questions10 minutes
Legacy Projects15 minutes
Knowledge Check15 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Family Care10 minutes

In this module we discuss the caregiver experience in detail, learn how to screen for caregiver distress and provide advice to support caregivers.

What's included

4 videos6 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt3 plugins

4 videosTotal 26 minutes

Tim Talks to the Hospice Physician6 minutes
The Caregiver Experience8 minutes
Identifying Caregiver Burden5 minutes
Supporting Caregivers6 minutes

6 readingsTotal 19 minutes

Scenes with Tim1 minute
Introduction to Supporting Caregivers1 minute
Caregiving and Depression3 minutes
Cultural Influence on Caregiver Burden2 minutes
References and Additional Reading2 minutes
Module Resources10 minutes

3 assignmentsTotal 21 minutes

Module 4 Assessment8 minutes
Supporting Tim5 minutes
Knowledge Check8 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Caregiver Burden Discussion10 minutes

3 pluginsTotal 50 minutes

Tim's Journey15 minutes
Caregiver Emotions and How to Support Them15 minutes
Grief and Bereavement20 minutes

Congratulations on completing the course content. You have a few more step to complete the course. First review your reflection, next complete a peer-reviewed course project and then take the final exam. We hope you have enjoyed the course and look forward to seeing you in other classes!