Care of the Dying Patient, Grief and Bereavement

UCC CPD MODULE TITLE:

Care of the Dying Patient, Grief and Bereavement

COURSE CODE:

IP6010

CREDIT WEIGHTING:

10

DATES

Spring 2025

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:

Candidates must have:

• A primary degree or an equivalent experience in a relevant health care discipline* to be approved by the Programme Team.
• Registration or eligibility for registration with the appropriate professional healthcare registration body.
• Ideally, candidates should have a minimum of one-year post qualification experience in healthcare provision.
• A relevant health care discipline includes, but is not limited to medicine, nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, audiology physiotherapy, psychology, and social studies.

All applicants are required to complete an application form and provide evidence of current professional registration.

VENUE:

Blended Learning – Online (live and pre-recorded).

OUTLINE:

This module introduces the concept of death and dying and the implications for patients, their families and the healthcare professionals involved in their care. The identification and physical care of the dying patient will be explored, with additional¿reference to the ethical, legal, and cultural considerations of end of life care. Models of grief, loss and bereavement will be examined, including complicated grief reactions. There will be an emphasis on the importance of collaboration with patients, families and other members of the interdisciplinary team in the care of dying patients. Support services for patients and families at risk of complicated grief will be discussed, with particular reference to the support of families (including children and vulnerable adults) whilst the patient is still alive.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

On successful completion of this module, participants should be able to:

• Recognise when a patient is dying based on end of life indicators and, where relevant to professional background, the application of knowledge of disease trajectories and prognostication.
• Describe the common issues (e.g. physical, psychological, social, spiritual, emotional, ethical, cultural, legal) that may arise for patients and/or families during the last weeks and days of life.
• Enable the person with a life-threatening illness and their family members to articulate their priorities, feelings, wishes and concerns relating to illness, loss and death.
• Identify risk and resilience factors and indicators of complicated grief and situations in which specialist support may be required.
• Appraise theories of loss, grief and bereavement and their application to clinical practice in palliative care.
• Appreciate the potential impact of personal experience of death, dying, loss, grief and bereavement on healthcare professionals providing care to dying patients and their families.
• Evaluate the impact of multidisciplinary team working, debriefing and self-care strategies for individual healthcare professionals and teams working with patients at end of life.

Applications now open: https://www.ucc.ie/en/ip6010/

or you can contact Helen Leahy – Clinical Tutor for Marymount University Hospital and Hospice via email: hleahy@marymount.ie