ELNEC Geriatric Module 4: Ethics and Goals of Care
The cornerstone of ensuring “a good death” for older adults is to provide care that is consistent with the older adult’s or family’s values and goals through identifying, communicating, and honoring their values and goals. Applying ethical principles in palliative care is fundamental to supporting older adults’ goals. This course provides nurses with knowledge of ethics in palliative care for older adults.
The cornerstone of ensuring “a good death” for older adults is to provide care that is consistent with the older adult’s or family’s values and goals through identifying, communicating, and honoring their values and goals. Applying ethical principles in palliative care is fundamental to supporting older adults’ goals. This course provides nurses with knowledge of ethics in palliative care for older adults.
American Nurses Credentialing Center
In support of improving patient care, Relias LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Nurses will receive 1.00 Nursing Contact Hours after successfully completing this course.
California Board of Registered Nursing
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, CEP# 13791
Nurses will receive 1.00 contact hours for participating in this course.
Recall basic ethical concepts and principles related to establishing goals of care and advance directives for older adults.
Identify the purpose of advance directives and common types of advance directives.
Outline:
Section 1: Basic Ethical Concepts
Ethics, Morality, and the Law
Framing Ethical Issues
Ethical Dilemmas
Review
Key Takeaways
Section 2: Goals of Care and Advance Directives
Ascertain the Goals of Care
Advance Directives
Types of Advance Directives
The Status of Advance Directives
Advocacy and Advance Directives
Review
Key Takeaways
Section 3: Decision Making and Capacity
Decisional Capacity
Decision Making in the Absence of Capacity
Establishing Capacity
Maximizing Capacity
Standards for Surrogate Decision Making
It’s a Process
Review
Key Takeaways
Section 4: Ethical Decision Making
Ethical Dilemmas and Advance Directives
Ethical Dilemmas: Your Role
When Ethical Dilemmas Occur
Medically Administered Nutrition and Hydration
Review
Key Takeaways
Section 5: Conclusion
Course Summary
Course Contributors
Resources
References
The content for this course was written by The ELNEC Project Team.
The ELNEC Project, which began in 2000, is a collaboration between the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), Washington, DC and the City of Hope, Duarte, CA. For more information about ELNEC, go to www.aacnnursing.org/ELNEC
The content for this course was revised by Shila Pandey, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN.
Shila is a palliative care nurse practitioner on the Supportive Care Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Currently she is practicing in the outpatient setting after years of inpatient palliative care experience. As a registered nurse, she worked on medical-surgical, step-down, and intensive care units. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the College of New Rochelle, Master of Science in Nursing with subspecialty in palliative care from New York University, and Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Rutgers University. Shila is active on the board for the local New York City Hospice and Palliative Nursing Association chapter. She is an adjunct faculty in the graduate department of New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Shila is board certified as an Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Practice Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse. Her academic interests include primary palliative care education, management of pain in patients with a history of substance use disorder, and communication skills training.
The content for this course was revised by Dorothy Wholihan, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN, FAAN.
Dr. Wholihan is a Nurse Practitioner, Special Projects Coordinator, and educator at the JJ Peters Veteran’s Medical Center in the Bronx, NY and also a Clinical Professor and the Program Director for the Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty Program at Rory Meyers New York University College of Nursing, New York, NY. Dr. Wholihan is a member of the Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association (HPNA) where she has served as a Leadership Program mentor. Dr. Wholihan has had numerous articles/book chapters published in peer-review journals on such topics as spirituality, anorexia/cachexia, patient-controlled analgesia, etc. In addition, Dr. Wholihan has traveled to the Philippines, Kenya, Singapore and Arctic Ontario to provide a wide variety of educational programs.
The target audience for this course is: Nursing Personnel; in the following settings: Skilled Nursing Facility.
Asynchronous/Online Distance Learning; please see certificate details for specifics on delivery format.
Relias has a grievance policy in place to facilitate reports of dissatisfaction. Relias will make every effort to resolve each grievance in a mutually satisfactory manner. In order to report a complaint or grievance please contact Relias.
If you require special accommodations to complete this module, please contact Relias Support by completing the web form (https://www.relias.com/help) or by using the chat functionality.
All courses offered by Relias, LLC are developed from a foundation of diversity, inclusiveness, and a multicultural perspective. Knowledge, values and awareness related to cultural competency are infused throughout the course content.
Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer or otherwise does not constitute or imply any endorsement, recommendation, or favoring of, or affiliation with, Relias, LLC.
All characteristics and organizations referenced in the following training are fictional. Any resemblance to any actual organizations or persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.
To earn continuing education credit for this course you must achieve a passing score of 80% on the post-test and complete the course evaluation.
If you require special accommodations to complete this module, please contact Relias Customer Support here.
