Death & Dying Series for Healthcare Professionals-Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication Session 2 10.16.25

October 16, 2025

Code: JUSGOL

https://cce.upmc.com/content/death-dying-series-healthcare-professionals-overcoming-barriers-effective-communication

 

 

 

 

Target Audience

Nurse

Nurse Practitioner

Pharmacist

Physician

Physician Assistant

Social Worker

Learning Objectives

  • Identify barriers to having serious illness with patients and families.
  • Implement strategies for having effective goals-of-care conversations.
  • Discuss how cultural factors can influence conversations about death and dying.

Additional Information

AttachmentSize
File 2025 Death and Dying series Session Breakdown (1).docx20.66 KB
PDF icon 2025 Death&Dying for HCPs flyer.pdf283.41 KB
Microsoft Office document icon How to access my credits_ Death & Dying Series for Healthcare Professionals Enhancing Conversation Skills Session 2 10.16.25_.doc95 KB
File 2025 Death and Dying series Session Breakdown (2).docx20.66 KB
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • 2.00 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 2.00 ASWB
  • 2.00 Attendance
Course opens: 
10/13/2025
Course expires: 
12/30/2025
Event starts: 
10/16/2025 - 3:30pm EDT
Event ends: 
10/16/2025 - 5:30pm EDT
Add to calendar: 

Session 1: Overview of Death and Dying and Advance Care Planning

October 9, 2025


 

  • Overview of JHF/EOL Agenda and the Death and Dying Series (20 min)
  • Participant introductions (30min)
    • Answer question given prior to the session (Ex. Tell us your personal experience with end-of-life care)
    • Visualization activity
      • Vision of a Good Death
      • Barriers to having Difficult Conversations with Patients and Families
  • Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient (30 min)
    • Share about serious illness conversations from the professional and patient experience
  • Advance Care Planning Conversations  (25min)
    • Introduction to Advance Care Planning
  • Group Discussion (10 min)
  • Wrap-up and Preview Next Session (5min)

 

Session 2: Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication

October 16, 2025

  • Reflections and Overview of Session 2 (5min)
  • Cultural Considerations for Serious Illness Care (40min)
    • Abbreviated version of his cultural humility talk
  • Talking to Seriously Ill Patients (40min)
    • Introducing tools for serious illness conversations
  • Group Discussion  (30 min)
    • Sample discussion questions: What challenges have you encountered in discussing serious illness and the end of life with patients/families from diverse backgrounds? What tools have you used to help frame your conversations? How has that worked?
  • Wrap-up and Preview Next Session (5min)

 

Session 3

Respecting Patient Choices in Serious Illness

October 23, 2025

  • Reflections and  Session Overview  (5min)
  • POLST Conversations (20min)
    • ACP presentation from Session 1
    • Answer any questions regarding POLST Module 1 background information
  • Ethics Cases (30min)
  • Death and Dignity (30min)
    • Describe how to have conversations around the meaning of the request for PAD
  • Breakout Group Discussions (30min)
  • POLST Conversations
  • Death and Dignity
  • Ethics
  • Wrap-up and Preview Next Session (5 min)

 

Session 4: Compassionate Conversations at the End of Life

October 30, 2025

 

 

  • Reflections and Overview of Session 4 (5min)
  • Hospice Conversations (30min)
  • The Role of Grief (30min)
  • Caring for Grieving Professionals (30 min)
  • Large group discussion with focused questions (20 min)
  • Wrap-up and Preview Next Session (5 min)

 

Session 5: Practicing Serious Illness Conversations

November 6, 2025

  • Overview of Role-Play Activity (5min)
  • Small-Group Conversation Practice with Role Play (80min)
  • Discussion and debrief (5 min)
  • Series wrap-up (5min)

 

 

 

Disclaimer Statement

The information presented at this CME program represents the views and opinions of the individual presenters, and does not constitute the opinion or endorsement of, or promotion by, the UPMC Center for Continuing Education in the Health Sciences, UPMC / University of Pittsburgh Medical Center or Affiliates and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.  Reasonable efforts have been taken intending for educational subject matter to be presented in a balanced, unbiased fashion and in compliance with regulatory requirements. However, each program attendee must always use his/her own personal and professional judgment when considering further application of this information, particularly as it may relate to patient diagnostic or treatment decisions including, without limitation, FDA-approved uses and any off-label uses.

Virtual
PA
United States

Speakers & Facilitators

Nancy Zionts, MBA, COO & Chief Program Officer, Jewish Healthcare Foundation

Courtney Wagner, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics, University of Pittsburgh 

Jonathan Weinkle, MD, FAAP, Medical Director, Squirrel Hill Health Center Jewish Healthcare Foundation

  Disclosure Statement: No members of the planning committee, speakers, presenters, authors, content reviewers and/or anyone else in a position to control the content of this education activity have relevant financial relationships with any proprietary entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients to disclose.

 

Accreditation and credit designation

In support of improving patient care, the University of Pittsburgh 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.

Physician (CME)

The University of Pittsburgh School designates this live activity for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing (CNE)

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 2.0 contact hours.

 

Social Work (ASWB) 
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, University of Pittsburgh is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. University of Pittsburgh maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 2.0 continuing education credits. 

 

Other Healthcare Professionals

Other health care professionals will receive a certificate of attendance confirming the number of contact hours commensurate with the extent of participation in this activity.

Available Credit

  • 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
  • 2.00 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
  • 2.00 ASWB
  • 2.00 Attendance
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