Life matters too… and so do kids!
11/17/2011
Krystal snugging her newborn! Noah jumping in fall leaves. Katie using felt pen for facepainting!
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“Don't let “End of Life Care” become “End of Road Care” – Integrate Palliative Education!
11/16/2011
End of life care. What does it mean? Does it refer to care in the last days, the last weeks, or the last years? What type of care is provided by an end of life care program? Is it holistic? Patient and family centered? What are the program goals, criteria, expectations? In the past decade
Read MoreSymptom Management – "It's not being dead, it's the dying I fear!"
11/09/2011
Online inter-professional engaging three week course starts November 10th. Learning activities include video, podcasts, readings, forum postings and teleconference. Due dates help us study and discuss together, but flexibility allows for room to adapt when needed. I am delighted that participants include: a student from Tanzania, a few PSW instructors, a nurse and at least
Read MoreOrientation: The new NACC PSW Module 14 "Care of the Dying….
11/02/2011
I was honoured a year ago when the National Association of Career Colleges announced they had approved our resources (Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care) for use in the Personal Support Worker (PSW) program. Earlier this year I was thrilled to collaborate with Linda Von Tettenborn and members of the PSW Advisory Committee to write their
Read MoreTell me what you think – Does palliative care "fit" in acute care hospitals?
10/13/2011
What is your perception of palliative care in an acute care setting? Does it belong? Is it possible to provide palliative care in a setting that emphasizes curative treatments? If you believe that palliative care doesn’t fit in acute care settings, then you are not alone. The following quote summarizes the responses of health care
Read MoreNew dimensions in palliative care: a palliative approach to …. final illness in older people
10/11/2011
Article by Linda J Kristjanson, Christine Toye and Sky Dawson published in 2003, cites the importance of a palliative approach when caring for those with neurodegenerative diseases as well as elderly people dying from diseases other than cancer. “A palliative care approach has much to offer people in the advanced stages of neurodegenerative diseases, as
Read MoreWalking the streets of NYC and feeling safe…
10/06/2011
I came to New York with my dear Aunt Frankie, (the hospice nurse who introduced me to death and dying as a child). We came specifically to see her son Charles who helped design and was hosting an outdoor urban “lab” for the Guggenheim Museum. It has been a treat to see what the “lab”
Read MoreAlzheimer's the defining disease of the Baby Boomers?
09/17/2011
According to a report from the Alzheimer’s Association, “Alzheimers will be the defining disease of the Baby Boomers”. To get a copy of their report, go to: https://www.alz.org/boomers/ . ”Dementia is most often thought of as a memory disorder, an illness of the aging mind. In its initial stages, that’s true — memory loss is
Read MoreReflections and quotes about teaching
09/07/2011
Thanks for those who have sent thoughts about teaching! Brenda Firman from Northern Manitoba wrote: The theme of the 1971 Annual Conference of the Canadian Association of Indian and Eskimo Education held in Yellowknife, NWT was What Education – For What. Jim Was-hee was the key-note speaker. No man [sic] can reveal to you aught,
Read MoreLoving learning…. Happy September!
09/01/2011
A few years ago I took a few courses at UVIC with the famous Antoinette Oberg. She enticed us to learn about research through writing, reflection, reading, writing some more… While there, I wrote a poem that I still cherish, Welcome to the playground… A warm welcome to the UVIC playground where we are free
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