Join Us for this year's Pediatric Palliative Care Symposium
Panelists answered questions from the audience during the 2023 Pediatric Palliative Care SymposiumFriday, November 15
Sunrise Banks Corporate Headquarters
2525 Wabash Ave, St. Paul, MN
It Takes a Team!
Caring Considerations for the Ever-Changing Lives of Children with Complex Medical Conditions
Supportive care for children that live with a medically complex condition deserves continuing review and discernment. For many children, changes in condition can occur often, each requiring adjustments by all involved in their care. Exacerbations interrupt a previous stability. The stresses of ambiguity, ambivalence about choices, and loss of dreams are often constant for families, clinical staff, volunteers and auxiliary team members. For symposium 2024, participants will address the weight of these stresses and losses… and the trauma when a major disruption occurs. Honest discussions about respectful coping, regular communications, and resiliency supports will be sought and named.
Learning Objectives:
After attending this activity, participants will be able to:
- Describe how sudden change in medical condition can alter established care plans and have a profound impact on emotional wellbeing of both healthcare providers and patients/families.
- Describe the importance and value of open communication between healthcare providers and patients/families when navigating moments of unexpected change.
- Apply effective strategies, focused on open communication, that assist healthcare providers and patients/families, in navigating critical moments of change.
Speakers and Topics Include:
Lois Swope, "Changed by my Child: Lessons on Loving, Living, and Dying Well."
Lois is working to inspire deeper compassion and understanding in caregivers, teachers and medical professionals, by sharing her experiences as a family member of someone living with a chronic illness. Lois is the mother of Karly, who lived with Rett Syndrome. From her birth until her death in 2012, Lois and Karly were on a difficult and incredible journey together as they worked to find compassionate, competent care. During those 27 years, she interacted with dozens of practitioners, from the early years when she was trying to understand the disorder affecting her daughter, to finding a diagnosis in 1999, through years of managing Karly’s changing health and needs, and, finally, hospice and end-of-life care. She has witnessed the unexpected; Karly, who was unable to speak on her own, was able to share her voice as a writer (using facilitated communication) and music composer. With the support of her family, devoted caregivers, and medical professionals, she lived a full and purpose-filled life.
Dr. Lahn Nguyen, "The Rollercoaster of Caring for a Medically Complex Child"
Dr. Lahn practices as a Pediatric Palliative Care physician at the Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minnesota and also serves as Crescent Cove's Medical Director. She is from the Apple Valley, MN and studied at Drake University in Des Moines, IA and went to medical school at Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She always knew she wanted to do pediatrics. Between college and medical school she worked as a CNA and worked in home health care with both children and adults. She did an intern year that was primarily adult medicine in Long Island and that is where she first became interested in palliative care. This inspired her to do her Pediatric residency in Brooklyn, NY; and then Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship in San Antonio, TX. Our team is grateful for her expertise in providing care to children at Crescent Cove, especially her compassionate support during end-of-life care.
Jocelyn DeGroot,Ph.D., "Grief and Illness Work While Caring for Medically Complex Children"
Dr. Jocelyn DeGroot earned her Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Ohio University in 2009. Her research focuses on interpersonal communication, computer-mediated communication, and communicative issues of death and dying. In this session Josie will discuss her research on parents’ experiences caregiving for children with medical complexities. She will focus on the communication-based illness work, grief triggers, and grief barriers/facilitators that parents report as they cope with the various challenges that often accompany caregiving. Pragmatic recommendations for parents and practitioners will be highlighted.
CME Credit Designation: 5.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ | 5.0 Contact/Clock Hours
Note: CME credits are not available for watching the recording of the symposium.
Physicians: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) through the joint providership of Gillette Children's and Crescent Cove. Gillette Children's is accredited by the MMA to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Gillette Children’s designates this live activity for a maximum of 5.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses: This activity is designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing (MNBON) continuing education requirements for 5.0 contact hours. It is the participant’s responsibility to ascertain if this activity meets the mandatory continuing education requirements of the licensing board under which they practice.
Others: This activity is worth a maximum of 5.0 clock hours. It is the responsibility of the individual to determine if this activity meets their professional requirements for continuing education credit.
Disclosure Statement: It is the policy of Gillette Children’s, in accordance with the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA), to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all CME activities. None of the planners or presenters of this educational activity have any relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.
Questions: If you have any questions regarding this CME activity, please contact us at cme@gillettechildrens.com.