An accredited course designed to equip healthcare professionals to lead meaningful conversations with their patients about their care wishes is now available from Compassion & Choices and the Goals of Care Coalition of New Jersey (GOCCNJ). The Advance Care Planning (ACP) Certificate Program offers an affordable way for professionals across disciplines to strengthen their skills and deliver more compassionate, patient-driven care.
The ACP Certificate Program builds on the success of a similar course first offered in New Jersey, and expands this training for professionals across the country. Research consistently shows that one of the most important and most impactful thing professionals can do to improve care for patients with serious illnesses is to facilitate effective conversations about preferences, wishes, and goals with them and their decision-makers.
“Too often, people reach the end of life without having had meaningful conversations about their wishes, leaving loved ones and care providers unsure how to proceed in challenging moments,” shares Jessica Empeño, MSW, APHSW-C, National Director of Clinical Engagement at Compassion & Choices. “Advance care planning helps bridge that gap, ensuring that the care people receive truly reflects their values and priorities. We’re thrilled to offer this new certificate program to help more healthcare professionals build these vital skills.”
The ACP Certificate Program was developed in response to a growing need for physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to confidently navigate care planning conversations. By participating in the program, providers can learn at their own pace, on their own schedule, while earning CE and CME credits.
The course content is broken up into concise video modules that cover topics such as communicating prognosis, aligning care with patient goals, integrating palliative and hospice care, and more. Participants will also receive practical resources to help patients and their loved ones prepare for advance care planning meetings.
As Aline Holmes, DNP, RN, retired Associate Professor from the Rutgers University School of Nursing, shares: “The ACP Certificate Program is an invaluable tool to use in providing healthcare professionals the skills and competencies to care for individuals and families as they near the end of their lives, and to do it with confidence and compassion.”
Both Compassion & Choices and GOCCNJ hope that healthcare professionals will take advantage of the program to build trust, enhance care and outcomes, and ensure more people have an end-of-life experience that reflects their wishes.
The program can be completed in one hour (1.5 hours for physicians) and is affordably priced at $25 or $50, depending on accreditation type. Upon completion, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion from i3 Health, the course’s accreditor, and a Certificate in Advance Care Planning from GOCCNJ and Compassion & Choices.
Learn more and register at: ACPCertificate.org
Compassion & Choices is the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit dedicated to improving care, expanding options, and empowering everyone to chart their end-of-life journey.
Goals of Care Coalition of New Jersey (GOCCNJ) is dedicated to helping New Jerseyans with serious illness get the care they need and no less, and the care they want and no more.
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by i3 Health and GOCCNJ. i3 Health is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, i3 Health is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.
i3 Health designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for physicians, 1.0 ANCC contact hour for nurses, 1.0 ACPE CE credit for pharmacists, and 1.0 general ASWB ACE credit for social workers. Participants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Mail contributions directly to:
Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center
PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
Compassion & Choices is a 501 C3 organization. Federal tax number: 84-1328829
