Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers: A Training Program has been developed to help hospice palliative care programs across the country ensure that volunteers receive the consistent training and information they need to provide high quality services.
The unit modules include:
Module I: Introduction to Hospice Palliative Care and The Role of the Volunteer. This module is designed to provide an opportunity for participants to get to know each other and to ensure they understand what hospice palliative care is, their role on the palliative care team, and the resources available to them.
Module 2: Effective Communication Skills. This module is designed to help volunteers develop active listening and other communication skills, and to reinforce the importance of confidentiality and privacy.
Module 3: Family and Family Dynamics. This module reinforces the role that volunteers play in supporting families and the importance of boundaries.
Module 4: Emotional/Psychological Issues and Support. This module gives volunteers the opportunity to discuss and understand the emotional and psychological needs of the dying person and family, and how to provide emotional support.
Module 5: Spiritual Issues and Support. This module gives volunteers the opportunity to discuss the spiritual issues related to death and dying, and to understand different spiritual practices.
Module 6: Physical Issues and Support, including Pain and Symptom Management. This module gives volunteers the opportunity to learn about the physical issues that people may experience near end of life, focusing on the volunteer’s role in providing care and comfort.
Module 7: Caring for People at Home or in a Hospice. The volunteer’s role and responsibilities will vary depending on the setting where the person is dying. Module 7 describes the role of the volunteer providing support for someone dying at home or in a hospice. NOTE: some information in this module – specifically on body mechanics, lifts and transfers – is only relevant to volunteers in certain jurisdictions.
Module 8: Grief and Bereavement. In this module, volunteers have an opportunity to discuss grief and bereavement, the impact of culture on grief and their role in providing support.
Module 9: Self Care. This module is designed to give volunteers an opportunity to talk about the stresses associated with being part of a hospice palliative care team, and about strategies they can use to care for themselves and manage stress.
The Volunteer manual is available for purchase on the CHPCA’s Marketplace at www.market-marche.chpca.net !
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