PSWs: Navigating Difficult Conversations

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for any health care provider is learning how to respond to difficult questions!

As a PSW you are often the trusted caregiver who the person and family turn to for support, reassurance and answers. It is your role to respond, but how to respond with compassion, and within your role as a PSW can be so challenging!

In this webinar Misha Butot, counsellor extraordinaire, and Kath Murray, hospice palliative care nurse and educator, addressed some of the difficult questions that you are often asked about such as involuntary weight loss, loss of appetite, and decreased intake. They shared the VERS framework, and then role played different ways one might respond.

Listen to this webinar to:

  • Reflect on difficult conversations, what makes them difficult.
  • Understand the importance of responding to questions – even if you do not and cannot answer the specific question.
  • Identify the challenges of cachexia and anorexia for the person, the family and the health care providers.
  • Identify how to integrate the VERS framework in your practice: Validate, Explore, Respond, Share.

Resources:

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Courtney Murrell is a PSW who works in hospice palliative care.

When she is not at work, she is spending time with her family, going on hikes or writing. Courtney is a lifelong learner and loves to share her passion for writing as a wellness practice.

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