This spring/summer we invited students and instructors to participate in surveys and interviews to evaluate the “Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care” resources. (The focus was on instructors and students in the Personal Support Worker programs.) Many thanks to everyone who participated by completing surveys and those who also participated in interviews!
During the interviews we gleaned some great teaching learning strategies! Anna-Lise Kear shared her experiences with Dr Antoinette Oberg who conducted the interviews:
Using the Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care Resources is like folding beaten egg whites into a mixture. I fold-in the resources, trial and error, and then continue to make further adaptations.
I have not put every part of the “Essentials” into full-use, but rather test a few more resources with each new class, watch the involvement and see what works best….
I generally follow the order of the text for the teaching outline….
Some of the resources I use for teaching myself, and getting the bigger picture of what might be possible. Then I think about the students and what they need.
What I can accomplish is different depending on the experiences and expertise of the participants. For example: two of my classes have been with adult students who are new/relatively new to the PSW role, while the other two classes are already working in home care.
Especially with the more experienced students I ask them what they want to know, and then check in as we go along to make sure they are getting what they need.
I like the comparison with egg whites. There is a lightness and some air that comes with egg whites.
Sometimes I get asked ‘How do you make this stuff so it is not dry and boring?” I am puzzled by that question. Life and Death are anything but boring. As soon as students start to reflect on their experiences, their beliefs, their stories… the content comes to life!
For more information about the ‘Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care’ text and companion resources.
