Award-winning palliative care course for health care professionals working in long-term care and nursing homes.

LEAP Long-Term Care is an interprofessional course that focuses on the essential competencies to provide a palliative care approach, with case studies contextualized to the long-term care setting. LEAP Long-Term Care is taught by local experts who are experienced palliative care clinicians and educators.

Delivery Modes

LEAP Long-Term Care can be delivered online or in-person.

Who is it for?

LEAP Long-Term Care is ideal for any health care professional (e.g. physician, nurse, pharmacist, social worker) as well as personal support workers (PSWs) or care aides working in long-term care and nursing homes.

LEAP Long-Term Care promotes teamwork and collaboration among different health care professionals who work in a variety of settings.

Course Features

• Interprofessional approach.
• Built by Canadian palliative care experts.
• Learners receive a LEAP certificate of completion and an electronic copy of the best-selling resource, the Pallium Palliative Pocketbook.
• Online
  • 17 interactive, self-learning online modules completed at your own pace (approximately 8 hours of work).
  • 6 hours of online webinars led by LEAP facilitators where learners will work through cases and discuss learnings from online modules. Personal support workers/care aides have specific case studies contextualized to their role.
• In-person
  • Two-days, 13 hours in total.
  • Face-to-face learning with group discussion and case studies.

Accreditation

Online

This two-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 26.5 Mainpro+® credits.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of LEAP Long-Term Care, learners should be able to:

• Describe the importance of self-awareness when providing palliative and end-of-life care.

• Identify patients who could benefit from a palliative care approach earlier in the illness trajectory.
• Promote and undertake Advance Care Planning discussions.
• Assess and manage pain; delirium; dementia; gastrointestinal symptoms, hydration, and nutrition; and respiratory symptoms.
• Develop plans to address spiritual or psychosocial needs.
• Initiate essential discussions related to palliative and end-of-life care in daily work.
• Identify and implement support strategies in grief and bereavement situations.
• Prepare patients and families for last days and hours.
• Recognize the role of all care providers in long-term care in providing a palliative care approach.

Topics Covered Include

• Taking ownership
• Advance Care Planning
• Goals of care and decision-making
• Pain assessment and management
• Delirium assessment and management
• Depression, anxiety, and grief
• Dementia
• Dyspnea
• Hydration and nutrition
• Gastrointestinal symptoms
• Palliative sedation
• Request to hasten death
• Suffering, spiritual care, and maintaining hope
• Last days and hours
• Organizational Readiness