Respecting Choices® ACP Tutorials and On-Site Facilitator Course

High calibre advance care planning educational materials are easy to access. These tutorials have been developed by Linda Briggs and Bud Hammes of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, Inc.
Reviewing these tutorials will make you want to pursue the full on-site course in La Crosse, Wisconsin. These on-site courses are offered a couple of times a year, and the next one is being held from October 26 - 28, 2009. The teaching is second to none.

Respecting Choices® - Conversations are Key

Take time to watch this well done video clip. It demonstrates the ground-breaking work of Bud Hammes and Linda Briggs at Gundersen Lutheran.
I feel so privileged to be associated with Gundersen Lutheran. The Respecting Choices® model of advance care planning is the model used to develop the Fraser Health (British Columbia)"My Voice" materials and education.

Inaugural International ACP Conference in Australia

The Inaugural International Advance Care Planning Conference presents a golden opportunity for attendees to participate and hear how advance care planning is working around the world, look at the impact of legislation, health policy and guidelines and see what strategies are working and why.
Melbourne, Australia - April 22-24, 2010.

Subtracting Emotional Reactivity

I often wonder if we should consider taking the advance out of advance care plan. It’s redundant.
Some dictionary definitions of the word plan are as follows:
• a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance: battle plans
• a method devised for making or doing something or achieving an end; program
• scheme; agenda; timetable; schedule
• to arrange a method or scheme beforehand for (any work, enterprise, or proceeding)
By taking the word advance out of advance care plan, much of the emotional reactivity around the process might dissipate.
A good discussion topic, I think.

London, Ontario CANSW Conference

Just 2 weeks to go before the Canadian Association of Nephrology Social Workers
Conference (October 21-23, 2009) in London, Ontario. The theme of the conference is: Beyond DNR: Re-thinking Advance Care Planning and Palliative Care.