Living Well / Dying Well:
Empowering Communication for End of Life Care
By: Susan O’Connor Von, PhD, RN-BC, CHPPN, Director of Graduate Studies, UMN Center for Spirituality and Healing, Associate Professor, UMN School of Nursing; and
Frank Bennett, MDiv, Founder and Program Leader of Living Well/Dying Well Initiative, Senior Teaching Fellow, UMN Center For Spirituality & Healing
Handouts – Living Well Dying Well – 3 per page Handouts – Living Well Dying Well – 1 per page
Living Well, Dying Well is an initiative of the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center. This initiative supports academic and community education that provides individuals, their loved ones and health care professionals with tools, skills and resources to empower effective communication for care at end of life.
Key to this initiative is reframing end-of-life care from a focus on medical death to an emphasis on humane dying through reflection on values, hopes, goals, and end of life planning. This introduction to the Living Well, Dying Well course will focus on the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of end-of-life care. Emphasis will be on the importance of developing communication skills, focusing on person-centered care and developing self-care strategies.
Objectives:
- Review the most important aspects of end-of-life care,
- Learn the importance of effective communication for care at end of life,
- Understand the value of exploring goals of care and planning for end of life,
- Identify self-care strategies and ways to enhance the care environment.
Susan O’Conner-Von PhD, RN-BC, CHPPN, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota
In addition, she serves as Director of Graduate Studies in the Center for Spirituality and Healing. Susan has been selected to receive the 2016 Certified Hospice and Palliative Pediatric Nurse (CHPPN) of the Year Award by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC).
Frank Bennett, MDiv, Senior Fellow and program leader for Living Well/ Dying Well at the Center For Spirituality & Healing UMN, is a spiritual care professional in acute, palliative and hospice care settings.
He has a particular interest in spiritual care and support for persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia, their caregivers and healthcare professionals in memory care. He is an ordained United Church of Christ minister, chaplain, facilitator and teacher.