Shiley’s Gift Furthers Palliative Care Education
Driven by a goal of expanding access to palliative care, Darlene Marcos Shiley and Shiley Scholarships provided funding for a second year to award scholarships to healthcare professionals who directly deliver care to patients and can expand this care in southern California. The scholarship applications and selections just concluded, resulting in awards of over $25,000 to awardees, who included advanced practice nurses, registered nurses, social workers, and more. The professionals will be completing this specialized training in 2017.
Helen McNeal, CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care Executive Director, enthusiastically shared her gratitude for Mrs. Shiley’s gift: “Through Darlene’s generosity, professionals who are dedicating themselves in today’s healthcare workforce will now be able to enhance the care they provide to chronically and seriously ill individuals, and their families. The fact that 60 health professionals representing chaplains, social workers, nurses, advance practice nurses, and others submitted applications to be funded to take CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care courses demonstrates the need for more support for palliative care education. We are so pleased to be able to offer this support to the very deserving professionals who received the awards.”
“I believe in palliative care and I have seen the difference it can make in patients’ lives. I will take the information I learn and apply it to my daily practice, from helping control physical symptoms, to communicating more effectively with patients and families.”
Applicants Cited the Importance of Palliative Care in their Applications
“This training will also provide the opportunity to learn interventions that can make for a more meaningful patient experience and reduce the emotional burden a disease like cancer can impose on a patient and their family.”
“I believe in palliative care and I have seen the difference it can make in patients’ lives. I will take the information I learn and apply it to my daily practice, from helping control physical symptoms, to communicating more effectively with patients and families.”
“As an RN Case Manager, I am called into patient’s homes often being the eyes and ears of the doctor. I find it so important to be as educated as possible so that I may be an advocate for each of my patient’s personal needs and present my findings to their doctors clearly with measurable findings they can use. I desire to help relieve any suffering that is associated with the disease processes that patients and families are facing every day; and to learn to treat my patient’s body, mind, and spirit, allowing them to make complete informed health decisions that are best for them.”
Scholarship recipients all voiced heart-felt gratitude, and, as was stated by one recipient,
“I was thrilled and grateful when I received your email notification that I have been selected as a recipient of a Donald and Darlene Shirley Scholarship for the Post-MSW Certificate in Palliative Care. I look forward to this opportunity of enhancing my knowledge in palliative care and implementing new skills for my palliative care social work position at this medical center.”
Scholarship availability was announced in late October. A five-fold increase in applications were submitted from professionals from health care, hospice, long term care facilities and home care agencies from across Southern California in November, Hospice and Palliative Care month. Applicants described their experience, training, and professional goals for using the training to improve their care delivery, and were required to submit a letter from their supervisor demonstrating support of their continuing education efforts.
Recipients are enrolling in 2017 Institute courses, including the 8-week, 64 CE hour RN Certificate in Palliative Care, the 9-month, 175 CE hour Advance Practice RN Certificate in Palliative Care, the Post-MSW Palliative Care Certificate which awards 144 CE hours for completing the 8 month course, and the fully online, self-paced Applying Motivational Interviewing Techniques and Interventions in Palliative Care course.
More information about all the courses offered by the Institute can be found on the Institute web site, csupalliativecare.org/education.
