OVERVIEW

Being Mortal: Conversations About the End of Life is organized by Antidote Education Company.

Release Date: September 2, 2015
Review Date: September 2, 2022
Expiration Date: September 2, 2023

Statement of Purpose:
As was poignantly stated in the PBS Frontline special, “Doctors are often remarkably untrained, ill-suited, and uncomfortable talking about chronic illness and death with their patients.” For most physicians and their teams, there is little training in managing end-of-life and having these difficult conversations with patients and families. Medical school and residency training has imparted the belief that death is a failure. Too often, death comes as a surprise to patients’ loved ones because this conversation never took place. There is no natural time to have these conversations until a crisis comes, and too often it’s too late. Also, sometimes what physicians do say to patients is not what patients hear, and their death comes as a surprise to family members. Patients have definite goals like dying at home or avoiding suffering. However, too often physicians and their care teams do not ask their patients about their goals and fears, so treatment is not aligned with their patient's priorities. This CME/CE activity will discuss how healthcare professionals can better help terminally ill patients prepare for death, and provide training in effective ways to engage patients and families in these difficult conversations that can empower patients to live their lives fully. It will define the importance of patients’ goals of care, and discuss ethical concerns of end-of-life decision-making.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, you should be able to:
• Explain the benefits of having conversations about your patients’ goals of care and what’s important to them
• Use strategies and tools to aid in conversations with patients about their goals of care
• Initiate conversations with your patients to learn their goals of care and what’s important to them
• Engage in difficult conversations about prognosis, treatment, and location of care to understand a patient’s priorities and goals of care
• Recommend care plans for patients based on their goals of care