APHON’S End-of-life Nursing Education Pediatric Palliative Care Course

Glenview, IL — The Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON), in conjunction with the City of Hope National Medical Center and the University of Michigan Health System, presents a 2-day conference discussing end-of-life care issues for children and their families. The conference takes place June 8 and 9 on the campus of the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, MI.

This is APHON’s only offering of the ELNEC-PPC course this year. The conference site is limited to 100 participants.

The course is based on an End-of-Life Nursing Education-Pediatric Palliative Care (ELNEC-PPC) training model, previously supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and City of Hope.

Pediatric hematology/oncology nurses work with many patients who will eventually lose their life, even with improving cure rates. Historically, nursing curriculums are woefully inadequate at providing education related to caring for dying children.

“Nurses are in a unique position to have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients and families,” says APHON Past President Karla Wilson, MSN RN FNP-C CPON®, “because they spend more time with patients and families at the end of life than any other healthcare professionals. For many of us, caring for a patient facing life’s end can be a frightening, stressful event, especially when that patient is a child or adolescent.

“Although nurses are intimately involved in all aspects of end-of-life care,” she continues, “most of us have had minimal formal education regarding this type of care. However, because expert nursing care has the potential to greatly reduce the burden and distress of impending death, nurses, individually and collectively, have demonstrated a commitment to improving end-of-life care. Many nurses have shown they are willing and able to attend to the many physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of dying patients and their families.”

Kim Cannon and Sarah Roberts attended APON’s ELNEC Course in Duarte, CA. “We were really excited!” explained Sarah. “We work with dying patients, and we’re not being educated about what to do. I feel more confident now [after attending this course],” Kim stated.

Much of the content is instructional to newer nurses—and validating to more experienced nurses—because information on palliative care in pediatrics usually is not taught in nursing school, nor does it receive much coverage in nursing textbooks. This conference will provide nurses with needed tools to care for families and children for whom cure cannot be realized.

APHON’s ELNEC-PPC Course, June 8 & 9, 2007, Ann Arbor, MI 2

Who Should Attend
Although geared toward nursing, the course can benefit healthcare providers from all disciplines who work with children and adolescents with cancer and blood disorders, and their families. RNs completing this course are provided a certificate designating them “ELNEC-PPC Trainers.” Non RNs receive a certificate designating them as “ELNEC-PPC Trained.”

Course Objectives

Describe the philosophy and principles of interdisciplinary hospice and palliative care nursing that can be integrated across healthcare settings.

Discuss beliefs regarding death/dying and the impact of spiritual/cultural rituals on end-of-life care for children.

Identify common symptoms associated with life-threatening illnesses in children.

Describe the multiple roles for nursing to improve quality care for children facing life-threatening conditions, and their families.
Continuing Education Credit
The Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Attendees can earn 13 nursing contact hours by completing and submitting evaluation forms to APHON. These contact hours are also eligible for ONC-PRO points for CPON® recertification.

Course Directors
Susie Weber, RN
Marcia McFawn, RN
Karla Wilson, MSN RN FNP-C CPON®

Fee
• $350 APHON members
• $450 non-APHON members
• $448 fee to register and become an APHON member for 1 year
(add $25 for international registration)
The fee includes continental breakfast and lunch each day.

About APHON
For more information on APHON or the ELNEC-PPC course, including a brochure and online registration, visit www.aphon.org or call 847-375-4724.

APHON is the leading professional organization, with more than 2,500 members, for registered nurses caring for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and blood disorders and their families. Its mission is to provide and promote expert practice in pediatric hematology/oncology nursing to its members and the public at large.


Written by: The Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses