📌
Apply terms and principles of palliative care
health The topic covers identifying and applying terms, principles and practices related to a palliative approach to care, palliative care, hospice care and end-of-life care.
Key Rules
- ✓Discuss the role of the interprofessional team and individual members in palliative care delivery
- ✓Describe common patterns of decline associated with dying
- ✓Define and discuss the principles, practices and benefits of a palliative approach to care, palliative care, hospice care, and end-of-life care
📌
Identify grief and strategies to support grieving
health The topic addresses recognizing grief as a natural, adaptive, individual response to loss and identifying strategies to support clients and families in grieving.
Key Rules
- ✓Reflect on personal attitudes and experiences related to loss, grief, dying and death
- ✓Discuss how personal beliefs and attitudes can impact clients' care
- ✓Describe grief as an expected, natural, adaptive, whole person response to loss experienced uniquely by each person
- ✓Discuss grief as occurring from time of diagnosis through death and bereavement
- ✓Identify and discuss the impact of historical trauma and other factors that increase the risk of complicated grief
- ✓Discuss the impact of life-limiting/life-threatening illnesses and associated patterns of decline and dying
- ✓Reflect on the many dimensions and feelings associated with grief and dying
📌
Support clients and families with dying and death preparation
health The topic covers supporting clients and families with the process of dying and preparation for death within the personal support worker role.
Key Rules
- ✓Develop and maintain supportive and therapeutic relationships through connecting, communicating, and establishing professional boundaries
- ✓Provide emotional support by considering every person as worthy of respect, connecting, listening, offering empathy, asking open-ended questions and being compassionate
- ✓Identify strategies to advocate for clients and families in collaboration with the interprofessional team
- ✓Identify and discuss the personal support worker's role when clients die suddenly
- ✓Identify the role of the coroner in situations of sudden and unexpected death
📌
Enable clients to direct care and maintain relationships
health The topic addresses providing clients opportunities to direct their own care and maintain relationships with their families.
Key Rules
- ✓Identify clients' needs and right to maintain choices while living with life-limiting/life-threatening illnesses
- ✓Identify clients' and family needs by observing, listening, asking questions and seeking to understand unique perspectives
- ✓Support family relationships, help maintain roles, and support desire/plans for rituals and cultural practices
- ✓Support clients who wish to express wishes and concerns and discuss goals of care with the most appropriate health care professional
- ✓Respond to clients' inquiries about Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) in accordance with legislation and employer policies, and respect client's rights
📌
Observe, record and report pain and symptoms
health The topic covers observing, recording and reporting clients' signs and expressions of pain and other symptoms in accordance with the plan of care.
Key Rules
- ✓Observe, record and report on clients' level of ambulation, activity, self-care, intake, and level of consciousness using standardized and communication tools (e.g., flow sheets, graphs, SBAR)
- ✓Identify common symptoms experienced by the dying person
- ✓Use standardized tools to gather information, record and report clients' condition, pain, difficulty with breathing, and other symptoms
📌
Identify rights related to advance care planning and consent
ethics The topic addresses identifying the rights of clients, family, substitute decision-makers or powers of attorney regarding advance care planning, goals of care discussions and consent in alignment with legislation.
Key Rules
- ✓Support individual and family choices pertaining to end-of-life care in alignment with the Health Care Consent Act and Substitute Decisions Act
- ✓Discuss the role of family members and substitute decision-makers in end-of-life care
- ✓Identify applicable legislation relating to substitute decision-makers or powers of attorney regarding consent to treatment
- ✓Discuss the ethical issues that may arise and bring them to the interprofessional team if beyond the scope of the personal support worker
📌
Support clients and families in last days and hours
health The topic covers supporting clients and families in the last days and hours, including respect for spiritual and cultural practices related to dying, death and the afterlife.
Key Rules
- ✓Identify and report physical changes experienced in the last days and hours and signs of imminent death
- ✓Support clients and families by being present, and providing care and comfort measures during the last days and hours of life
- ✓Provide care for the body after death according to family direction/cultural practices, employer policy or plan of care
- ✓Provide support to families at the time of clients' death and following
- ✓Provide opportunities for the person and family to exercise religious, cultural and spiritual rituals throughout the illness trajectory and bereavement
📌
Terms, principles and practices of palliative care
health Covers identifying and applying terms, principles and practices related to a palliative approach to care, palliative care, hospice care, and end-of-life care.
Key Rules
- ✓Discuss the role of the interprofessional team and its individual members in palliative care delivery
- ✓Describe common patterns of decline associated with dying
- ✓Define and discuss the principles, practices and benefits of a palliative approach to care, palliative care, hospice care, and end-of-life care
📌
Grief as a natural response and grieving support
health Covers identifying grief as a natural, adaptive, individual response to loss and strategies to support clients and families in grieving.
Key Rules
- ✓Reflect on personal attitudes and experiences related to loss, grief, dying and death
- ✓Discuss how personal beliefs and attitudes can impact clients' care
- ✓Describe grief as an expected, natural, adaptive, whole person response to loss experienced uniquely by each person
- ✓Discuss grief as occurring from diagnosis through death and bereavement
- ✓Identify and discuss impact of historical trauma and factors increasing risk of complicated grief
- ✓Discuss impact of life-limiting/life-threatening illnesses and patterns of decline on clients, families and the PSW
- ✓Reflect on the many dimensions and feelings associated with grief and dying
📌
Support clients and families with the dying process
health Covers supporting clients and families with the process of dying and preparation for death within the PSW role.
Key Rules
- ✓Develop and maintain supportive and therapeutic relationships through connecting, communicating and establishing professional boundaries
- ✓Provide emotional support by respecting every person, connecting, listening, offering empathy and being compassionate
- ✓Identify strategies to advocate for clients and families in collaboration with the interprofessional team
- ✓Identify and discuss the PSW's role when clients die suddenly
- ✓Identify the role of the coroner in situations of sudden and unexpected death
📌
Clients directing their own care and relationships
health Covers providing clients opportunities to direct their own care and maintain relationships with their families.
Key Rules
- ✓Identify clients' needs and right to maintain choices while living with life-limiting/life-threatening illnesses
- ✓Identify clients' and family needs by observing, listening, asking questions and understanding unique perspectives
- ✓Support family relationships, help maintain roles, and support desire/plans for rituals and cultural practices
- ✓Support clients who wish to express wishes, ask questions and discuss goals of care with appropriate professionals
- ✓Respond to clients' inquiries about Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) per legislation and employer policies
📌
Rights related to advance care planning and consent
ethics Covers identifying the rights of clients, family members, substitute decision-makers or POAPC in relation to advance care planning, goals of care discussions and consent to treatment.
Key Rules
- ✓Support individual and family choices pertaining to end-of-life care in alignment with relevant legislation
- ✓Discuss the role of family members and substitute decision-makers in end-of-life care
- ✓Identify applicable legislation relating to substitute decision-makers or POA for personal care regarding consent
- ✓Discuss ethical issues that may arise and bring them to the interprofessional team if beyond the PSW scope
📌
Provide non-pharmacological comfort measures
personalcare The topic addresses providing non-pharmacological comfort measures to clients experiencing symptoms as directed by the plan of care.
Key Rules
- ✓Identify and provide a range of non-pharmacological comfort measures (e.g., application of heat and cold, positioning, imagery, meditation/silence, music)
- ✓Seek input from clients for their comfort needs and preferences for comfort measures
📌
Report and record responses to comfort measures
health The topic covers reporting and recording clients' responses to comfort measures.
Key Rules
- ✓Seek and record feedback from clients as to their responses to comfort measures and communicate concerns to the team immediately when symptoms are not settling
📌
Integrate self-care practices into daily routines
personalcare The topic addresses integrating self-care practices into daily routines when caring for dying clients and their families.
Key Rules
- ✓Explore the rationale for self-care practices, especially when caring for dying clients and their family members
- ✓Describe emotions, thoughts and behaviours associated with compassion fatigue
- ✓Identify self-care strategies that prevent compassion fatigue
- ✓Develop a self-care plan to support health and wellness
📌
Provide culturally safe palliative care for diverse populations
health The topic covers providing culturally safe palliative care for Indigenous people and minority and underserved populations throughout the illness trajectory and bereavement.
Key Rules
- ✓Discuss cultural humility, cultural sensitivity, cultural awareness and cultural competence in providing culturally safe palliative care
- ✓Incorporate First Nations, Inuit and Metis community specific protocols and practices into the provision of palliative care
💬
Culturally safe palliative care for diverse populations
communication Covers providing culturally safe palliative care for Indigenous people and people from minority and underserved populations throughout the illness trajectory and bereavement.
Key Rules
- ✓Discuss cultural humility, cultural sensitivity, cultural awareness and cultural competence in culturally safe palliative care
- ✓Incorporate First Nations, Inuit and Metis community specific protocols and practices into palliative care