Course Archives

Global Nursing Fellowship Programme

Are you a nurse committed to making a difference in the lives of people at the end of life?

This transformative development programme is designed for nurses who want to deepen their professional identity, enhance their practice, and lead with confidence in palliative care settings be it for adults or children.

This course brings together the heart of nursing and the principles of palliative care, using powerful storytelling, reflective practice, and leadership development.

Bookings now closed for this year – please register your interest for a future cohort.

Quotes from our 2025 learner cohort:

“This has been a beautiful journey and I’ve enjoyed connecting with so many empathic professionals from around the world.”

“I was truly captivated by the range of topics in this course. It beautifully intertwined the essence of nursing with palliative care, and was incredibly enriching for me. One session stood out above the rest: the facilitator discussing nursing perspectives through the lens of Florence Nightingale and Dame Cicely Saunders. It gave me chills – it was such a profound and touching moment.”

“What a wonderful programme which involved such enthusiastic members. I enjoyed the conversation, connection and education. What an age we live in to allow this virtual ability of connecting with one another all over the world. You have provided this beautiful, accessible hub with such a diverse community of medical personnel. Knowing that there are common threads that support all of us is so important.”

About
Who should attend
Outcomes
Dates
Facilitators

Grounded in contemporary models like the Lantern Model, it empowers nurses to:

Understand their unique contribution to end-of-life care
Communicate with clarity, empathy, and courage
Lead positive change within their teams and systems
Invest in your growth, both professionally and personally

This programme will feature:

Interactive workshops with expert facilitators
Reflective activities to deepen self-awareness
Peer learning and community building
Practical outputs like personal development plans, storytelling pieces, and advocacy tools
Ongoing support to apply learning in your practice setting

This programme is for nurses working in end of life /palliative care who want to build their skills and confidence in their clinical leadership at the bed side and in leading their team.

We welcome applicants from across the world.

To obtain a certificate of course completion you will be required to do the following:

Attend 80% (minimum) of the sessions
Set a personal goal at the start and reflect on your progress on completion of the programme
Write a 500 word reflection

By attending this programme you will obtain:

Greater clarity and confidence in your nursing identity
Enhanced communication and leadership capabilities
Strategies to support your wellbeing and that of your team
A portfolio of outputs showcasing your learning and vision
A stronger voice in shaping palliative care now and into the future
Strong leadership and advocacy skills

You will also experience:

Foundations & Identity

The Power of Storytelling in Nursing
Core Principles of Palliative Care
The Lantern Model: A Framework for Holistic Practice
Professional Identity & Acting Authentically
The Nurse’s Unique Role in Palliative Care

Skills & Confidence

Leading Sensitive Conversations & Advance Care Planning
Coaching & Compassionate Communication
Person-Centred & Culturally Responsive Care
Teaching & Mentoring in Clinical Practice

Growth & Leadership

Recognising and Building on Personal Strengths
Ethical Practice & Moral Courage
Nurse Leadership & Influencing Change
Strengthening Your Voice & Advocacy Skills

Wellbeing & Culture

Psychological Safety & Healthy Workplaces
Building a Sustainable Self-Care Plan

Creating Flourishing, Supportive Cultures

Date	Day	Start Time (Local / UTC)	End Time (Local / UTC)
18 September 2026 (Booking deadline)	Friday
29 October 2026 (onboarding)	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	16:00 / 16:00
12 November 2026	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
26 November 2026	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
10 December 2026	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
7 January 2027	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
21 January 2027	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
4 February 2027	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
18 February 2027	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
4 March 2027	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
18 March 2027	Thursday	15:00 / 15:00	17:00 / 17:00
1 April 2027	Thursday	14:00 / 13:00 UTC	16:00 / 15:00 UTC
15 April 2027	Thursday	14:00 / 13:00 UTC	16:00 / 15:00 UTC
29 April 2027	Thursday	14:00 / 13:00 UTC	16:00 / 15:00 UTC

Marie Cooper

Marie Cooper is a nurse with extensive experience in clinical leadership and practice development across a range of care settings. Having led change in previous roles, she now enjoys working…

What is a meaningful conversation?

A genuine, empathetic exchange that brings together connection and support—especially during emotional moments.

Perhaps you are a receptionist, porter, caterer, or health or social care assistant, who finds yourself supporting individuals or families in distress. This course will give you the confidence to hold a meaningful conversation in challenging situations.

Try out a conversation with one of our virtual humans:

Adio
Simon

About
Outcomes
Who should attend?
Facilitator

Build your confidence and communication skills to respond with empathy, without the stress of real-time role play. It’s interactive, research-based, and offers practical tools for handling sensitive conversations, relevant across care, support, and even retail settings.

How is the course delivered?

By attending the course, you will have access to a range of realistic scenarios to practise your skills in a safe and supportive environment, with personalised formative feedback to guide ongoing improvement.

We’re excited to partner with Virti to bring you an innovative learning experience using AI-powered adaptive learning. This provides:

Scenario-based learning with AI-driven Virtual Humans
Safe, repeatable practice environment (no role play anxiety!)
Multiple realistic scenarios to build confidence
Personalised feedback to improve communication
Built with psychological safety and realism in mind

Watch the video below to find out more.

This course, will build your confidence and communication skills to respond with empathy, without the stress of real-time role play. It’s interactive, research-based, and offers practical tools for handling sensitive conversations, relevant across care, support, and even retail settings.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Confidently approach difficult conversations with compassion
Recognise common communication barriers
Identify distress in others and manage the personal impact of difficult conversations
Reflect on your professional role, its boundaries, and relevant policies and procedures
Strengthen emotional resilience and adopt strategies for self-care

When you sign up to this course you will have access to ‘virtual role play’ which is an innovative learning tool that provides a safe space for you to practice your newly acquired communication skills in different scenarios. Evidence shows that simulation-based learning and the opportunity to practice skills in a range of different scenarios helps to reinforce learning.

This half-day course is for those wanting to improve on communication skills in situations where you might have more challenging or sensitive conversations.

This course is particularly aimed at:

Receptionists
Porters
Health or social care assistants
Transport services
Catering staff
Domiciliary care staff
Retail staff
Anyone interested in further developing the skills and confidence when faced with more challenging conversations in the workplace.

Gail Preston

Gail has been a physiotherapist for over 20 years, initially specialising in Neuro Rehab before moving into Palliative Care. Over the last 15 years she has developed and evaluated services…

The Virtual Clinical Visits provide an opportunity to find out more about palliative and end of life care at St Christopher’s Hospice based on your clinical specialism, hosted online and via on-demand resources.

You will engage in the virtual visit alongside clinical colleagues from different contexts. Activities during the virtual visit include opportunities to explore St Christopher’s services, witness multidisciplinary meetings and clinical decision making, network with peers, meet with St Christopher’s staff relevant to your role and critically evaluate practice within your own professional context.

By the end of the Virtual Clinical Visit you will create an action plan for developing practice specific to your context.

Orientation will be via our Online Learning Platform.

“The Virtual Clinical Visit was well-designed and engaging. It inspired me to review what I am currently doing and to rethink what matters to clients, their family and to me/our team” Lai Ming Lamcy, October 2025

“The dedicated sessions with faculty members from similar specialties were particularly valuable, as they offered deeper insights into their roles and functioning within the hospice.
The programme was highly impactful. I was able to adapt and replicate several of the practices and approaches in our own setting.” Attendee, October 2025

Who is it for?
Timetable
Facilitator

All clinical professions working in palliative care or interested in palliative care.

Example timetable from our last virtual clinical visit:

Pre-visit activities/orientation

Following onboarding, visitors complete self guided tasks:
Introduce yourself and your context Orientation to the Learning Platform Required tasks (e.g. consent) St Christopher’s Virtual Tour St Christopher’s history including ‘The Voices That Shaped Us’

Live Sessions

Tuesday 8 Sept	Wednesday 9 Sept	Thursday 10 Sept	Friday 11 Sept
Meet the team What is a hospice? Teams in St Christopher’s Rehabilitative Palliative Care Lantern models of care Reflection	Clinical Practice Visit and experience: – Board round – Multidisciplinary meeting – Mortality meeting – Outcome measure – Self (staff) care	The Patient Voice Some patient experiences of hospice care Professional interface Reflections to inform planning Discussion with clinician related to your area of practice	Action Planning for Practice Plans for developing practice Questions, Evaluations, Close
Live session at 1.00pm to 2.30pm GMT)	Live session at 1.00pm to 2.30pm GMT)	Professional interface – Live session 1.00pm to 2.00pm (GMT)	Live session at 1.00pm to 2.30pm (GMT)

Follow up

Wednesday 14 October 2026
Follow up on Action Plan Access to materials provided post visit Review of short-term plans online
Live session at 1.00pm to 2.30pm (GMT)

Lorna Malcolm

Lorna joined the Rehabilitation team at St Christopher’s in 2008, as a newly qualified physiotherapist, coming from previous careers in Law and Health and Fitness. She has also worked as…

Bereavement and loss for health and social care professionals

Do you feel confident supporting someone who is grieving?

For health and social care professionals, navigating conversations around loss can be challenging—both when supporting others and managing personal experiences of grief.

This interactive 3.5 hour online session, led by experienced bereavement leads, will enhance your confidence and skills in providing compassionate bereavement support.

Outline
Who should attend
Facilitators

This course is held online via Zoom, and will be facilitated by leading experts in bereavement services and support.

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

Recognise the signs of grief in individuals and understand the various factors influencing their grieving process.
Engage in compassionate and supportive conversations with people who are bereft and grieving.
Practise self-care strategies to maintain emotional well-being while supporting people with a loved one that has died.

This course is open to all health and social care professionals in any setting.

Choose the date that works best for you.

Fiona Walkingshaw

Fiona is Head of Adult and Child Bereavement Services at St Christopher’s Hospice. It is a newly created post which aims to ensure the continuous development and sustainability of St…

We are delighted to introduce the Universal Care Plan (UCP) training plan, a comprehensive initiative designed to support Care Homes in delivering consistent, person-centred care. This programme takes a staged approach to ensure that training is practical, sustainable, and embedded in daily practice.

This initiative reflects our commitment to supporting Care Homes in delivering excellent care through collaboration and shared learning.

Join us as we work together to make a lasting impact on the quality of care provided to residents.

Overview
Sessions
Who should attend
Facilitators
Learner outcomes

In Year One, the focus is on building strong foundations with:

In-person training for Care Home Managers, providing them with the tools to lead the implementation of UCPs.
Online training for staff who will become UCP Champions, equipping them with the skills to facilitate Advance Care Planning conversations and promote the value of UCPs.
Local training sessions hosted by Lead Care Homes in Purley, Norwood, South Croydon, and Kenley, inviting neighbouring Care Homes to share and learn from UCP-based practices.

In Year Two, the programme continues to develop with:

On-site support from St Christopher’s clinical team, working directly with UCP Champions in Croydon Care Homes.
Online training for new Champions and refresher sessions for existing ones, ensuring skills remain sharp and effective.

UCP Training for Registered Managers (in-person at St Christopher’s CARE in Sydenham, London)

Training for UCP Champions (online)

More dates to be announced

If your Care Home is outside of Croydon but you are interested in this opportunity, please email education@stchristophers.org.uk

All Care Home staff in Croydon.

Gill Early

Gill started her career in a Croydon nursing home at the age of 16 years old. She trained as a nurse, graduating as a Registered General Nurse in 1986.

By the end of the UCP training programme, you will be able to:

Define the principles, benefits, and common misconceptions of Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Universal Care Plans (UCPs).
Describe challenges and issues related to ACP implementation in the context of UCPs, including addressing sensitive topics with families and residents.
Demonstrate effective skills for conducting difficult, sensitive, and challenging conversations about end-of-life care with residents and their families.
Record and share ACPs by gathering resident information, wishes, and preferences, ensuring accurate and effective use of the UCP system.
Create appropriate responses to complex scenarios, such as managing expectations, addressing cultural considerations, supporting residents with dementia, and handling emergency situations.
Assess personal strategies for self-care, recognising the emotional demands of engaging in sensitive conversations and supporting end-of-life care.

These outcomes aim to empower care home staff to confidently use the UCP system, with the ability to deliver compassionate, person-centred care while enhancing collaboration and communication within your teams and with residents’ families.

Pathfinder Leaders in Palliative Care

If so, we would like to invest in you.

We are interested to work with emerging leaders who want to improve how people live, die and grieve, by drawing on new and different leadership thinking and action. They will be people that aspire to shape care, build partnerships and form services that are future orientated, courageous and creative in nature.

You will have the opportunity to learn as part of a group of like-minded people who can rise above the challenges of today to meet tomorrow’s opportunities. Those contributing to the course as facilitators and guest speakers are drawn from within and beyond the hospice and palliative care sectors.

Please email education@stchristophers.org.uk to discuss joining.

About
Who is it for?
Topics
Leaders
Testimonials

Our curriculum is forward-focused and covers a range of issues. Online sessions last three hours in length, providing opportunities for conceptual learning, practical application, personal reflection and action planning.

What is expected if you join the course?

In the course of the programme you are expected to undertake a work-based project. We can help guide you in relation to the type of project most appropriate, but it must be one that is seen as valuable by the organisation for which you work, and one which calls on leadership skills in its design and implementation. Your organisation must be happy to support you to identify and work on the project, giving you access to relevant data and resources. Ideally your managers will allocate some time for you to work on this, protected from the demands of the rest of your job.

We expect participants to attend at least 80% of the course and to be prepared to complete the work-based project.

This leadership programme is an excellent opportunity for leaders and managers that have an aspiration to progress to director level and beyond. You will be recognised as having leadership potential and talent by your employing organisation.

This course will be of interest to:

Senior Managers already in post who want to build strategic leadership skills
Senior team leaders and heads of department who aspire to lead directorates in the future
New CEOs or COOs who have recently taken up roles within the hospice/palliative care sector and who want to immerse themselves in this area of work
Existing directors looking to hone their leadership skills

Topics covered in the programme:

Knowing self, values and strengths
Building personal assets and resilience
Building strategic vision and clarity
Financial confidence
Authentic, centred leadership and gravitas
Forward looking transformation and change
Negotiation skills and influencing others
Maximising agency and leverage
Big picture thinking
Driving innovation
Building others
Networks, collaboration and partnership working
Being intelligent around risk
Intimacy at scale

Heather Richardson

Heather Richardson currently works as a senior consultant to the Professional Learning Team and wider organisation of St Christopher’s.

Marie Cooper

Marie Cooper is a nurse with extensive experience in clinical leadership and practice development across a range of care settings. Having led change in previous roles, she now enjoys working…

“The training strengthened my confidence as a leader and had a transformative impact on my career. I found my place in palliative care with a renewed sense of purpose”

– Thamirys Mendes, Brazil participant

“The course created a psychologically safe environment that encouraged open dialogue and deep self-reflection. I felt comfortable exploring my own strengths and areas for growth without judgment”

– Caroline Phillips, UK participant

Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Nurse Consultant Development Programme

Welcome to the Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) and Nurse Consultant (NC) Programme — a unique opportunity for experienced nurses in palliative and end of life care to advance their careers.

Offered by St Christopher’s CARE, a leading institution in hospice care, this programme equips you with the skills, confidence, and leadership needed to deliver high-quality, compassionate care.

Whether you’re looking to become an ACP or NC, you’ll benefit from expert teaching, practical learning, and a supportive community.

Join us to take your nursing practice to the next level and make a meaningful difference in end of life care.

For more information about the programme, please email the Professional Learning Team at education@stchristophers.org.uk

Outline
Dates
Who is it for?
How you’ll learn
Outcomes
Team
Prospectus

The potential contribution of senior nurses in palliative care has arguably never been greater. There is clear recognition on the part of Government, commissioners and providers of the value of strong clinical leadership to meet emerging demographic, disease specific, regulatory and other challenges. Simultaneously, there is new rhetoric and clarity about the potential role of nurses alongside medical and other colleagues to fulfil such a leadership role.

This unique course will offer sustained opportunity for nurses who aspire to be advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) or nurse consultants (NCs) to gain the skills and knowledge required within these roles. We welcome nurses from across the NHS, private and voluntary sector.

The programme is divided into two parts. All learners start together for the first half of the programme. Then, those that wish to advance their role beyond advanced nursing practice to that of a consultant remain for the second half of the programme.

New dates to be confirmed

Qualifications and experience required:

Experience: At least three years in a Band 7 nursing role or equivalent.
Palliative Care: Significant experience in palliative and end of life care.
Education: Completion (or near completion) of a Master’s program that includes advanced physical assessment and independent prescribing modules, or these must be completed by the end of the course.
Self-Development: A strong passion for self-improvement and enhancing nursing practice.
Leadership: A desire to be an effective leader focused on improving the experiences of dying and grief through advanced practice.
Network Commitment: Willingness to actively participate in the Global Palliative Nursing Network during the program.

Support from Host Organisation:

Candidates must work for an organisation that can support advanced practitioners, including:

Clinical Support: Access to supervision from a consultant doctor or nurse in relevant competencies (can be arranged as needed).
Mentorship: Guidance from a more senior nurse (can also be arranged as needed).
In-House Resources: Access to advice on independent prescribing and advanced examinations.

Host Organisation Requirements:

Adjusted responsibilities to allow for project completion, quality improvement experiences, and leadership opportunities.
There must be a senior nurse or doctor available to assess and sign off on the nurse’s capabilities during practice.
The organisation must agree to support the nurse’s development throughout the program with:
- Financial assistance.
- Time away from clinical duties for study.

Teaching and Learning Structure:

Participants will be taught by a diverse team of clinicians, healthcare leaders, academics, and peers. Learning will take place both in person and virtually.

Course Structure:

Aspiring Nurse Consultants (NCs): Must complete both Part 1 and Part 2.
Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs): Only required to complete Part 1.

Part 1 (For ACPs and NCs):

12 In-Person Days: Comprehensive, face-to-face training sessions.
Minimum 6 Days of Self-Directed Learning: Independent study tailored by the course requirements.
Leadership Training (Optional): Available virtually for those seeking to enhance their leadership skills.
Teach with CARE (Optional): A hybrid program (in-person and virtual) designed to develop teaching and mentoring skills.

Part 2 (For Aspiring NCs Only):

6 In-Person Days: Advanced, face-to-face learning specific to the Nurse Consultant role.
Minimum 2 Days of Self-Directed Learning: Independent study guided by course expectations.

Learning Methods for All Participants:

Lectures, Seminars, and Webinars: Engaging and informative sessions delivered by experts.
Workshops: Practical, hands-on learning activities.
Communities of Practice: Collaborative spaces for peer support and shared learning.
Guided Reflections: Opportunities for self-assessment and reflection on practice.
Clinical Observations and Placements: Real-world experience in clinical settings.
Online Learning Platform: A virtual space for interaction with peers and faculty, as well as access to additional on-demand learning resources.

Learners in the program will:

Understand the current landscape of palliative and end of life care and the role of nursing within it.
Grasp the diverse responsibilities of an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) or Nurse Consultant (NC) in this context.
Gain confidence in delivering skilled, evidence-based, personalized care to dying patients and their families, as expected of an ACP or NC.
Identify and act on leadership opportunities at all levels (individual, team, organiSation, system) that benefit from ACP or NC expertise.
Understand the importance of quality in healthcare and the role of senior clinical leaders in maintaining high standards.
Explore ways to advance and contribute to the nursing profession.

Meet your Programme Leaders

The programme will be led by Heather Richardson and Marie Cooper who will draw on the rich experience of colleagues within and beyond St Christopher’s working as senior clinicians and consultants. Some of the in-house team you will meet are described below.

Heather Richardson

Heather Richardson currently works as a senior consultant to the Professional Learning Team and wider organisation of St Christopher’s.

Marie Cooper

Marie Cooper is a nurse with extensive experience in clinical leadership and practice development across a range of care settings. Having led change in previous roles, she now enjoys working…

ACP and Nurse Consultant Development Programme

Teach with CARE – improve your teaching practice

Are you passionate about teaching in health and social care?
Do you want to fine tune your teaching practice?
Would you like to introduce innovations in your approach to learning?

Teach with CARE is a four-day course with teaching spread over several weeks.

The course considers different perspectives of adult learning and pedagogy.

The sessions introduce best practice techniques including planning; presenting; resourcing; questioning; assessing and evaluating teaching across the four days.

Learners will also look at online educational tools for effective teaching as well as evaluating best practice for face-to-face and online teaching. They will have the opportunity to plan and share a short teaching session and receive supportive feedback.

“It’s common to be asked to teach others as part of your role, but for those with no training and little experience in teaching, this can be a nerve-wracking prospect. Teach with CARE has been developed as a foundational step into the theory and practice of teaching and learning, giving clinical and non-clinical colleagues alike the confidence and ideas to excel in the role. High quality teaching is critical to our learners being able to put what we teach into practice, and therefore benefits the quality of care delivered throughout the sector.“

Matt Tregellas, Digital Learning Manager and Teach with CARE Lead, St Christopher’s CARE

“I really enjoyed the four days. I think that Teach with CARE should be mandatory for all (teaching colleagues), no matter how long they have been teaching. It gives everyone a platform from which they can be launched and a sense of what is expected of them.”

Teach with CARE attendee

Outline
Topics
Who is it for
Tutors
Programme

What will the course look like?

Fully virtual course: With this option all four days learning are online via Zoom
Blended course: For this option the learning will be in-person at CARE (days 1 and 4) and online (days 2 and 3).
Please note you will need a laptop for the in-person sessions.

This course will involve:

Exploration of academic and web articles
A range of activity types including: live and video presentation; using interactive tools as both a learner and a teacher; discussion; pair and group work; self-study; critical thinking; reflection
Completion of tasks before and after sessions. There will be approximately one hour of self-study per session and slightly longer for the final assignment.

What will I learn?

Theories of teaching and learning
Consider the needs of adult learners and how to create engaging learning
Consider implications for practice when teaching face-to-face or virtually
Enhance and develop teaching practice

Who is it for?

The course is for anyone who wishes to improve their teaching practice face-to-face and online, particularly those in health and social care, but the learning from this course can be used in most settings.

Delegates are expected to have a basic understanding of navigating a laptop, supporting software and use of the internet.

Matt Tregellas

After graduating from the University of Sheffield, Matt moved to Japan where he began his career as an English language teacher. After three years, Matt returned to the UK where…

Lorna Malcolm

Lorna joined the Rehabilitation team at St Christopher’s in 2008, as a newly qualified physiotherapist, coming from previous careers in Law and Health and Fitness. She has also worked as…

Exploring St Christopher’s CARE aims and Pedagogical Framework
Considering different perspectives on adult learning
Planning; presenting; resourcing; questioning; assessing and evaluating teaching in response to learner input and feedback
Considering best practice for face-to-face and online teaching
Using online tools for effective teaching
Planning and sharing the rationale for a teaching session

Day 1

10.00	Welcome and Introductions St Christopher’s CARE and the Pedagogical Framework
11.00	Break
11.15	Theories of learning
12.15	Lunch
12.55	Adult learning and active learning
14.15	Reflection, evaluation and wrap up
15.00	Close

Day 2

10.00	The teaching context
11.15	Break
11.30	Constructive alignment, learning outcomes and Bloom’s taxonomy
12.40	Lunch
13.20	Online educational tools
14.20	Homework set up and reflection
15.00	Close

Day 3

10.00	The Conversational Framework Active learning activity share
11.15	Break
11.30	Anatomy of a teaching session Planning a teaching session
12.40	Lunch
13.20	Flipped learning
13.50	Multimedia design
14.30	Homework set up and reflection
15.00	Close

Day 4

10.00	Evaluation and reflection
11.15	Break
11.30	Making and delivering an activity with educational technology
12.45	Lunch
13.25	Putting it into practice: Assignment workshop
14.15	Final reflection, Next steps
15.00	Farewell

Dementia training days

As a health or social care professional supporting people at the end of life, do you feel confident and competent to support and care for people with advanced dementia and their carers?

Palliative Care for People with Advanced Dementia

As part of our learning programme here at St Christopher’s CARE to upskill clinicians and colleagues working in all settings to better understand and support the growing number of people with dementia at the end of life, we’ve created three training days looking at various topics associated with the end of life for people living with advanced dementia and their carers.

To meet the needs of people with busy working schedules and different areas of interest and expertise, this has been designed to be a flexible course – learners may complete all three days, any two, or just the one that most suits their needs.

Communication
Common symptoms
Key issues
Who is it for?
Speakers

What will I learn?

Thursday 21st January 2027 (virtual)

Communicating with people living with advanced dementia and their loved ones

Understand the different ways in which individuals with dementia communicate
Understand communication barriers and factors that can affect communication in a negative way
Be aware that non-verbal communication is an essential component of communication for people living with dementia

What will I learn?

Next date tbc

Common Symptoms in People Living with Advanced Dementia

Dementia: pathophysiology, aetiology and key symptoms
How to support people displaying distressed and adaptive behaviours
How to recognise and managing pain in people living with dementia
How to recognise delirium in people living with dementia
Discuss dementia case scenarios

What will I learn?

Next date tbc

Key palliative care issues relating to the people with advance dementia and their carers

This study day will highlight some of the important palliative care issues relating to people with advanced dementia and their loved ones. The goals of the day are to help learners:

Be more familiar with the signs and symptoms that dementia is progressing and of the last 6-12 months of life
Understand the importance of end-of-life planning to prevent crisis admissions to the hospital
Recognise and address ways in which dementia may impact on nutritional intake
Be more aware of how people with advanced dementia process and cope with grief and loss and how best to support them and their families talk about grief and loss
Understand that services can be developed to support people with advanced dementia stay at home for as long as possible
Know the stressors associated with caring for someone with dementia at the end of life

This course is pitched at an intermediate level and is suitable for nurses, doctors, social workers, occupational therapists, paramedics, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists.