From Distress to Action: Addressing Moral Distress in Palliative Care

This workshop explores moral distress within the palliative care team through the interprofessional perspectives of the physician, registered nurse, and social worker. Participants will examine common sources of moral distress, including aggressive treatment at the end of life, ineffective communication, resource limitations, and tensions between patient wishes and organizational constraints.

Through interactive case-based discussions grounded in complex, real-world clinical scenarios, learners will deepen their understanding of the genesis of moral distress in clinical practice and its impact on team members, patient care, and organizational culture. Participants will gain practical strategies for recognizing and managing their own moral distress, supporting colleagues experiencing moral distress, and leveraging organizational resources and practical consultation frameworks to address moral distress at a systems level.

Learning Outcomes

1. Review the origins and history of moral distress in health care and its impact on patient care.
2. Identify 3 common sources of moral distress within palliative care teams.
3. Examine how moral distress affects various members of the interprofessional team.
4. Employ 3 strategies to manage moral distress within palliative care teams at the individual, team, and systems level.

Nursing

This activity has been submitted to the Connecticut Nurses' Association for approval to award contact hours. The Connecticut Nurses' Association is accredited as an approver of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Other Professions

CAPC is working closely with their educational partners for additional continuing education credits.

Verification of Attendance (VOA)

All users that are not eligible for continuing education will receive a Verification of Attendance certificate upon completion of the course.

How to Achieve Contact Hours: To successfully earn credit, participants must attend for 90% of the live activity and complete the course evaluation. A printable certificate of completion or a continuing education award document specific to the discipline will be awarded.

Course Media Instructions and Additional Information

Software Requirements: CAPC’s online curriculum, tools and technical assistance are designed to be fully compatible through multiple platforms: computer, smartphone (iOS or Android) or tablet running the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Content: Each course is comprised of interactive learning components (articles, tools, or supporting materials), video and audio. The learner will be expected to participate in discussions and breakout sessions.

Target Audience: This program is developed for nurses, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, chaplains, case managers, palliative care program leaders, and healthcare leaders (hospital, health system and community care).

Activity Description/Statement of Needs: CAPC’s online curriculum provides training in two critical areas. Technical assistance courses are designed to help palliative care program leaders address key challenges such as implementing palliative care in community health care settings. Clinical coursework provides fundamental training in pain and symptom management, communication, and other key skills needed to work with patients with serious illness.

Faculty Disclosures and Financial Relationships: It is the policy of CAPC to ensure objectivity, balance, independence, transparency, and scientific rigor in all CE, CNE and CME educational activities per the highest standards of ANCC and ACGME guidelines. For all courses, Faculty/Presenters/Authors/Content Reviewers/Planning Committee Members complete forms to disclose their relevant financial relationships. No relevant financial relationships were identified for any individuals with the ability to control content of the activity.

Disclaimers: The opinions expressed in the courses are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor, the educational partner, or the supporter. Please review complete prescribing information of specific drugs or combination of drugs, including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients. Activities do not contain information on commercial products/devices that are unlabeled for use or investigational uses of products not yet approved.

Copyright Information: All rights reserved by the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). No materials may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.

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