Palliative Care Training for Nurse Practitioners

Advanced Practice RN Certificate in Palliative Care

• Video Transcript

  My name is Beth O’Brien, and I’m really new to palliative care, although I’ve been a nurse practitioner for 21 years, and I’ve always been interested in palliative care. And so I really needed a way to kind of work into getting the knowledge base that I needed, even though I’ve been a clinician for so long, it’s such a specialty. And so I enrolled in the CSU Institute for Palliative Care, and it’s an online program. And it’s just amazing with the content and being able to interact with other students that are also advanced practice nurses and come from varied backgrounds.

  All the material is so relevant. You know, I’ve said to so many people, every provider, clinician should take this course. When we first started out, I mean, it was things like leadership. I thought I knew about leadership. I already have a master’s degree, right? I mean, no, I learned so much. Communication skills. I’ve been a nurse midwife for 21 years. I thought I had great communication skills. But I still–it deepened everything for me. And I’m just really grateful for the experience. The instructors have been really wonderful. And when I had trouble, I called them right away, you know, they walked me through it. They’re very compassionate and really read what people are saying and really put thoughtful input back out to the students, which I think is so incredibly valuable.

  This APN course has given me the confidence and the skill set I need to be able to face almost any situation. Of course, life is unpredictable, and I’ll have to think on my feet, but I really feel like it has been an incredibly valuable experience.

With an aging population and healthcare reform, palliative care is an essential component of the future of healthcare. Across the country inpatient and community-based palliative care programs are helping health systems, ACOs, physician practices, and skilled nursing facilities provide care that enhances patient outcomes, decreases hospitalizations, and improves patient satisfaction.

The Advanced Practice RN Certificate in Palliative Care is an online program that puts the APN or APRN on the path to becoming an expert in palliative care. Advanced Practice Nurses will receive an in-depth examination of a broad range of current topics in this growing field – all in working partnership with experienced palliative care nursing experts.

2018 Updates in Course Content Areas

• Adjuvant Drugs
• Advanced Liver Disease
• Leadership and Advocacy
• Bowels – Bowel Obstruction, Constipation, Diarrhea
• Cachexia Anorexia Syndrome (used to be Anorexia)
• Challenging Symptoms
• Facilitating Goals of Care Discussions
• Interventional Pain Procedures
• Medical Aid in Dying (soon to be updated again in the next week or two)
• Nausea, Vomiting Dyspepsia
• Oncology for PC Professional
• Pain Physiology
• Palliative Emergencies
• Palliative Sedation
• Professional Issues

Register for the brochure on this course by clicking HERE.

What sets this nursing education program apart?

• Best practice-based – learn the latest in palliative care best practices for APRNs
• Practical and relevant – learn it today, use it today, and bring your challenges back for more learning
• Highly interactive – you’ll get to know faculty and fellow students well
• Flexible – works with a nurse’s busy lifestyle – 100% online. Do it when it works for you
• Manageable – just six to eight hours per week of study time
• Very affordable – one fifth the cost of similar classroom-based programs

“I encourage anybody to take the course especially if you’re really interested in palliative care because it gives you more than generalistic palliative knowledge”
Andrya Burciaga, MSN, FNP

• Video Transcript

  My name is Andrya Burciaga. I’m a family nurse practitioner who is working in palliative care at my local hospital. And I just completed the AP-RN certification in palliative care with CSU, and I absolutely love the course. I encourage anybody to take the course, especially if you’re really interested in palliative care because it gives you more than a sense of generalistic palliative knowledge. I’m very enthusiastic about the course so I encourage anybody to do it.

  One of the things that I really enjoyed about the course was that it was really able to help you with symptom management which I feel, a lot of times, even though we’re trained in school and we practice, a lot of it is what you learn and basically what you know from very limited resources. And the coursework was really able to teach you from the best of the best. It was informative. It was easy to communicate through discussion boards. The professors were very engaging. They were able to give a lot of information. And I just thought it was an excellent course. So I think one of the reasons why I joined the course was because I felt like I needed to be marketable and not only marketable but also knowledgeable in the field that I was working.

  I would highly recommend the course at CSU because it increases your knowledge in palliative care. Anyone who’s interested in palliative care, you really get to work with experts in the field and to be able to collaborate and engage with other nurse practitioners across the country.

This online program has been developed specifically for the CSU Institute for Palliative Care by nationally recognized palliative care and hospice nursing experts as well as specialists in the fields of oncology, cardiology, nutrition, interdisciplinary practice, complementary and alternative therapies, chaplaincy, and more. The faculty includes nursing and other professionals currently working in palliative care who understand the challenges you face and are committed to your success.

Fast Facts

Dates:	August 7, 2019
Lasts:	9 months (approx.)
Is taught:	Completely online, available 24/7
Offers:	175 Continuing Education Hours
Costs:	$3900
Prerequisites:	A completed MSN degree
Textbook is:	Click HERE to view required and recommended course materials
Is taught by:	Experienced leaders in palliative care
Is ideal for:	APRNs working in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, physician practices or hospices, caring for seriously or chronically ill people who would benefit from palliative care
Is Open to:	Advanced Practice nurses
Provides:	Opportunities to interact with and build a network of peers and colleagues
Detailed FAQ:	Click HERE.
Cancellation Policy:	Refunds will only be considered for cancellations when requested in writing at least five (5) business days prior to the start date of the course. If approved, there will be a $35 administrative fee charged to process the refund. Click here to send us an email.

Comments from an Advanced Practice RN Certificate in Palliative Care Student:

“I am excited to share my experiences with you about the online Advanced Practice RN Certificate in Palliative Care course. I recently took this course and I must say, it was quite informative. My background is an APN in Oncology. I often describe Palliative Care as the best part of my previous life as an Oncology clinician… [Read More…]

Required Course Textbooks

Dahlin, C., Coyne, P.J., & Ferrell, B.R. (Eds). (2016). Advanced practice palliative nursing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

McPherson, M. L. (2018). Demystifying opioid conversion calculations: A guide to effective dosing, 2^ndEdition. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Supplementary Course Resources (not required)

Cherney, N., Fallon, M., Kaasa, S., Portenoy, R.K., & Currow, D.C. (Eds.). (2015). Oxford textbook of palliative medicine (5^th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Dahlin, C., Coyne, P.J., & Ferrell, B.R. (Eds.) (2016). Clinical pocket guide to advanced practice palliative nursing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.  

Ferrell, B. R., Coyle, N., & Paice, J. (Eds.). (2015). Oxford textbook of palliative nursing (4^th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Course Information

Course Outline

Focusing on Critical Palliative Care Content For Advanced Practice Nurses

This rigorous course covers more than 80 different content areas to help APNs and APRNs:

• Improve patient outcomes
• Explore evidence-based approaches to advance practice palliative nursing
• Help patients identify and achieve their care goals
• Implement pain and symptom management strategies to reduce patient’s illness burden and suffering
• Study the application of ethical principles in palliative care situations
• Expand your career opportunities

The APRN Certificate in Palliative Care program curriculum includes modules on:

• Foundational aspects of palliative nursing including: domains, protocols, communication fundamentals, interdisciplinary team functions, and the overall role of the APRN
• Whole-person assessment
• Serious and chronic illness care from a holistic, patient-centered perspective, incorporating all aspects of physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual care as well as state of the art complementary and alternative therapies, including but not limited to:

• • Fundamentals of pain and pain pharmacology
  • An in-depth look at cancer from prognosis and treatment to supportive measures specific to oncology
  • Over a dozen symptom-specific modules covering topics such as ascites, bleeding, dyspnea, fatigue, mucositis, pruritus, and many more
  • Psychosocial aspects of palliative care
  • Spiritual care
• Fundamental and advanced communication skills and their practical application, including:
  • Establishing presence
  • Negotiating goals of care
  • Breaking bad news
  • Facilitating family meetings
  • Interdisciplinary communication challenges and strategies
  • Consultative communications
• Palliative care ethical issues and perspectives as well as the legal aspects of care
• Leadership skills for advanced practice nurses including relationship and team building
• Cultural competencies and working with special populations in all palliative care settings
• Pediatric palliative care and the special issues related to the care of children
• Complementary and alternative therapies – their role and application

Course Information