Caring for Pediatric Patients with Serious Illness

This Learning Pathway contains a comprehensive set of training and tools to help pediatric clinicians address the unique needs of patients and families living with serious illness.

This learning pathway, Communication Skills for Conversations About Serious Illness, contains training and tools to help health professionals navigate difficult conversations with patients living with a serious illness.

Northwestern University's full curriculum adaptation of EPEC for pediatric patients and families. Use for in-depth, self-paced professional development across clinical, communication, and ethical domains.

Freely accessible course through OPENPediatrics on pediatric pain and opioid education aimed at healthcare professionals working in the inpatient setting.

This is a clinical decision-support flowchart from the National Alliance for Care at Home that helps hospice physicians determine, medication by medication, whether a pediatric patient's drug should be covered under hospice (concurrent care) or billed to another payer, based on the medication's indication and alignment with the family's goals of care.

CAPC's training recommendations will help pediatric psychologists address the unique needs of patients living with serious illness, and their families.

Prompts to help families start difficult conversations about serious illness. Share once a family is ready to talk about goals of care and future planning, not before.

A booklet helping children express how they want to be cared for, in their own words. Share once a child is developmentally able to participate in their own care conversations.

Use this resource with adolescents and young adults navigating serious illness. Empowers young people to communicate with family, friends and caregivers about how they want to be comforted, supported, treated, and remembered.

Supports clinicians in processing grief and managing emotions after difficult patient experiences. Use by yourself or with your team after a hard case, or proactively as part of onboarding.

A support network for parents of seriously ill pediatric patients. Share as a coping resource, particularly for families new to pediatric palliative care.

Resources for families navigating a life-limiting perinatal diagnosis. Share with caregivers facing perinatal loss to connect them with specialized support.

This Courageous Parents Network initiative offers families videos, guides, and reflections on understanding grief, coping with loss, and maintaining connection with a child after their death, organized around topics like the grief experience, identity as a parent, and grieving with others.

An online community for families who've experienced the death of a baby. Share as a bereavement resource following perinatal or infant loss.

A support network for families after the loss of a child. Share as an ongoing bereavement resource, not just at the time of loss.

Got Transition® is the national resource center on health care transition. Its aim is to improve the transition from pediatric to adult health care using evidence-driven strategies for clinicians and other health care professionals; public health programs; payers and plans; youth and young adults; and parents and caregivers.

An American Academy of Pediatrics member-only resource on best practices in pediatric palliative care. Use to stay connected to the broader pediatric palliative care clinical community and emerging standards.

Seattle Children's Hospital's pediatric palliative care team uses patient storytelling and case discussions during rounds and team meetings to build health equity into everyday practice.

Resources for improving team health and tools to help clinicians cope with moral distress, grief, and trauma.

Join CAPC for these unique, informal, facilitated discussions where you can share common reactions to your demanding work and coping strategies that can diminish the consequences of this stress. Confidential and open to all.

A family-friendly overview of pediatric palliative care with FAQs and a program directory. Share early in the care journey, at or before the first pediatric palliative care visit.

National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) guide to support parents caring for a child with a serious or life-limiting illness. 2026

A brochure introducing pediatric palliative care to patients and families. Share at or shortly after diagnosis, to orient families to available support.

A brochure introducing pediatric palliative care to patients and families. Share at or shortly after diagnosis, to orient families to available support (Spanish-language version).

A concise, printable card explaining different types of family support. Share when a family asks what kind of help is even out there.

A printable FAQ overview designed for families and referrers. Share at the point of referral or first family meeting.

An online peer community for parents of children with serious illness. Share with a family that is newly navigating a pediatric palliative care diagnosis and looking for peer connection.