AASW Webinar Recording | Compassionate Conversations – Navigating Advanced Care Planning, Death, and Dying

Capability Levels: Emerging; Evolving

Did you know that almost 50% of people will be unable to make their own end-of life-decisions? Or 70% of Australians want to die at home however, only 14% are able to do so and most people die in hospitals or Aged Care facilities? These statistics highlight the importance of individuals having discussions with their loved ones about their values and preferences with respect to their health and medical treatment. However, discussions centred around death and dying in Australian society are often seen as very taboo.

Hospital Social Workers can play a pivotal role in starting quality of life discussions with patients and families and can provide education regarding the benefits of Advanced Care Planning (ACP).

Participation in the webinar will improve social workers confidence and comfortableness in commencing ACP discussions with patients and families and ensure collaborative working with the multi-disciplinary team. This will ensure the patient and or/family voice is heard when decisions about medical treatment are being made, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.

This webinar will outline what ACP is and provide practical examples as to how it is relevant and can be applied to Social Work practice within a hospital setting. The case studies provided will be based on the clinical experience of two hospital Social Workers and will aim to cover the following:

• families in ACP discussions in the hospital setting.
• Outline relevant legislation to consider such as the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 and how this is practically applied within the hospital setting.
• Myths and Barriers of conducting ACP in clinical settings
• Skills required for ACP discussions
• Exploring when ACP discussions are clinically indicated
• How to initiate ACP discussions with patients and families
• Ethical considerations of ACP in a clinical setting

Who should register?

This webinar is designed for social workers at different stages of their careers, focusing on Advanced Care Planning (ACP) in clinical and hospital environments. Emerging social workers will gain foundational knowledge in ACP, laying a solid foundation for their practice in healthcare settings. Intermediate social workers, with some experience in hospital environments, will deepen their understanding of ACP and enhance their ability to facilitate sensitive discussions with patients and families about death, dying, and values-based decision-making, increasing their comfort and skill in addressing these complex topics.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Understand what is “Advanced Care Planning” and why Social Workers are pivotal in facilitating quality of life discussions with patients and their families
• Apply the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 to determine an individual’s alternate Medical Treatment Decision Maker
• Implement Advanced Care Planning knowledge in completion of psychosocial assessments and, enhance confidence in engaging with patients and families to discuss values and preferences relating to health care and medical treatment.

AASW Credentials: Mental Health; Clinical