Educational Opportunities and Resources

Sandy Macomber
smacomber@tidewell.org

28th Annual Conference of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC)
Grief and Loss: Wisdom and Insight
March 29 – April 2 , 2006
Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, Tampa, Florida, USA

The ADEC Annual Conference presents a unique opportunity for interaction between individuals concerned with psychosocial, clinical, and educational aspects of death and loss. The Conference also provides a forum for the exchange of information in death education, care of the dying, and bereavement counseling and support.

Choose the ADEC Annual Conference in order to:

• Learn about cutting-edge research and clinical work in the thanatology field.  Create a curriculum tailored to your individual needs and disciplinary program.  Participate in informal and formal networking opportunities.
• Make the most of continuing education credits, the bookstore, and the exhibition.

Contact ADEC at www.adec.org

2006 End-of-Life Conference, April 18-19, 2006 in St. Cloud, MN
The annual conference is quickly approaching!  Find the conference brochure, physicians’ brochure, and exhibitor and sponsor information (pdf format) on the End-of-Life Conference Web page.  Online registration is also available.  Contact: Frances Conklin, tel. 651-659-0423; fran@hospicemn.org

16th Annual Provincial Conference on Palliative and End-of-Life Care
Sponsored by: Humber/Ontario Palliative Care Association
April 23-25, 2006, Marriott Eaton Centre Hotel, Toronto, Ontario
Contact information: 416-674-2472; e-mail: corp@humber.ca; event web site: www.palliativecare.humber.ca
For further information about this program, please contact:
Teresa Sottile, Conference Manager, Phone: 416-675-6622, Ext. 4559; Fax: 416-675-0135; Email: teresa.sottile@humber.ca

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
7th Clinical Team Conference and Scientific Symposium
April 26-28, 2006, Town and Country Resort, San Diego, California
www.nhpco.org/ctc2006

The 7th Clinical Team Conference (CTC) is specifically designed for the hospice/palliative interdisciplinary team, the heart of quality end-of-life care. This unique educational opportunity offers an intensive educational curriculum created to equip, educate, and excite.

Journey of the Heart Conference
A Women’s Retreat designed for moms who have experienced the loss of a child.  A weekend filled with love, hope, peace, comfort and encouragement.
 
The image of spring is one of refreshment and renewal and that’s what you’ll find at the "Journey of the Heart" Women’s Conference located in beautiful Palm Springs, California. 
 
May 19-21, 2006, The Doral Desert Princess, Vista Chino at Landau, Palm Springs, CA; http://www.doralpalmsprings.com/gallery.htm
Scholarships Available.

7th International Symposium on Pediatric Pain
June 25-29, 2006, Vancouver, BC, Canada

The 7th International Symposium on Pediatric Pain is hosted by the Canadian Pain in Child Health Society for the Special Interest Group on Pain in Childhood of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
For more information contact Patrick McGrath through the following web site:
www.ispp2006.com

Books/ Articles

The Helper’s Journey: Working with People Facing Grief, Loss, and Life-Threatening Illness
by Dr. Dale G. Larson
Champaign, Illinois: Research Press, 1993. Paperback, 6 × 9, 292 pages. ISBN 0-87822-344-4

This groundbreaking work, written for both professionals and volunteers, combines an inspiring view of helpers and helping with a focus on meeting the personal, interpersonal, and team challenges of caring for people facing grief, loss, and life-threatening illness. It teaches specific skills and strategies for stress management, effective helping communication, interdisciplinary teamwork, and increased personal and professional growth. Sensitively exploring the inner world of helping, this award-winning book includes numerous case examples and verbatim disclosures that powerfully convey the joys and sorrows of the helper’s journey.
 
I’m Here To Help: A Guide for Caregivers, Hospice Workers, and Volunteers
by M. Catherine Ray
Revised and expanded edition; New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trade Paperback, 112 pages. Publication date: April 1, 1997. ISBN: 0553377973

Vachon, M. (1987).  Team stress in palliative/hospice care.  The Hospice Journal, 3, 75-103.
Vachon, M. (1997).  Recent research into staff stress in palliative care.  European Journal of Palliative Care, 4, 99-103.

These two articles by one of the best known researchers who has studied stress in adult hospice and palliative care for many years may offer useful insights for those working in the pediatric field.

Web sites:

Managing Stress For Hospice Professionals
Hospice workers can help each other by volunteering to take cases that may be unduly stressful for co-workers with family crises.  Doing Something Nice For Yourself.  We are often too generous.
www.americanhospice.org/articles/hospicestress.htm

New Tools:

“Come to Your Senses”

This is a program for rejuvenation and renewal for hospital staff.  The intent is to provide engaging, imaginative, creative, and participatory ways for staff to have a regular, sustained time to restore themselves during their shift.  These six sessions were designed by Alan Johnson, MDiv, Staff Chaplain, and Kelly West, RN, BSN, staff of The Children’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado.

The six CDs in this program and the printed material in notebook form offer the structure of six 15-25 minute sessions.  Each CD contains a narrative and explanation of the exercises; each notebook provides an outline of each session, a list of materials that are needed, and instructions for the group facilitator.  The set is self-contained, meaning that anyone could be the convener of the sessions.  Each session focuses on one of the five senses, with the addition of the sixth one, nonsense.

We developed "Come to Your Senses" as we sought a way to bring staff back to themselves and to their center in the midst of their work, and to help them make sense of things.  Concentrating on our senses of taste, hearing, touch, smell, and sight brings us to the here and the now and focuses on tangible ways that we can get back in touch with our selves in the cacophony of our daily work.  We added nonsense since we can also play, work, and live in situations that do not make sense and yet we can still hang in there and be renewed rather than being drained.  It may be one way to make some sense out of nonsense. 

All of our senses, even nonsense, can be avenues for rejuvenation!

Come to Your Senses: A program for rejuvenation and renewal
Order form
I would like to order ____ Notebook(s) of the program "Come to Your Senses"
Suggested donation: $55 for one Notebook, which includes 6 CDs and guidelines.
$4.75 Postage (in the US)
Total $____ Enclosed
Please make checks payable to:
The Children’s Hospital Foundation
1245 E. Colfax Ave., Suite 400
Denver, CO 80218
Name: ____________________________________
Organization: ______________________________
Address: __________________________________
City: ______________________________________
State: ______________ Zip Code: ____________
Country: __________________________________
Phone: ____________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________________

For more information
Alan Johnson, Staff Chaplain, MDiv
The Children’s Hospital
303-864-5350; johnson.alan@tchden.org
Kelly West, BSN, RN
The Children’s Hospital
303-861-6511; kewest@tchden.org