Hope and Resilience: Healing Presence in Our lives and The Lives of Our Patients

Thursday, September 23, 2021, 2:00 PM - 3:45 PM

From our Hope and Resilience at the End of Life Annual Conference series, we present to you this Online Webinar focused on Healing Presence in Our lives and The Lives of Our Patients.

Health care providers and caregivers practicing in end-of-life care settings possess a depth of knowledge and empathic understanding that allows them to provide extraordinary care to their patients, often at times of great distress. Bearing witness to the suffering of others can take a toll on professionals, no matter how well prepared they are. Empathy is the cornerstone of this work, but it can draw one into empathic distress, which comes at a high price.  

What can we do to counter the impact of empathic distress and still provide such extraordinary care? 

When we sit consciously and compassionately in the presence of our patients, we are in the present moment— we hold space for them.  We believe in and affirm their condition, no matter what it is, and who they are, in their entirety, at whatever point they are in their lives. This is healing presence. Our presence does not cure life-threatening conditions or fix the tragic circumstances of another’s life, but it can heal. It is an organic force from within ourselves that offers purpose, meaning and wholeness to another’s life.  

This webinar will introduce participants to the foundational elements of healing presence and how one can practice it with thoughtful introspection. Healing presence also requires a connection with our own hearts and psyches, and perhaps changes us in the process. 

1. Define healing presence and how it affects the cared-for and the caregiver.
2. Describe empathic distress fatigue.
3. Define the effects of positive communications for incurably ill patients on family and professional care providers.
4. Identify how Neff’s concept of self-compassion, both tender and fierce, create a foundation for the practice of healing presence: a) Self-kindness, b) Common humanity c) Mindfulness.
5. Recognize barriers and challenges to healing presence.
6. Increase awareness honoring the other and ourselves.

Complimentary 

This Online Webinar is made possible by the generous support of The Schwimmer Family, The VNA Health Group of New Jersey, and the RWJBarnabas Health Home Care and Hospice.

Advanced registration is required to confirm your registration. Registration can only be accepted through this website.

A meeting link to join the Online Webinar will be emailed to registered participants one week prior to the webinar. 

Cancellation

If you need to cancel your registration, please email us at [email protected] with your request. 

For additional information, questions, concerns, or if you require special arrangements to attend this activity, please contact Rutgers Center for Professional Development by telephone at 973-972-6655 or by email at [email protected].

Rutgers reserves the right to modify program content, faculty and program activities. It also reserves the right to cancel the activity if necessary.

In support of improving patient care, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences 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. 

PHYSICIANS Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 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 awarded 1.5 contact hour (60 minute CH). Nurses should only claim those contact hours actually spent participating in the activity. 

Method of Participation

In order to meet the learning objectives and receive continuing education credit, participants are required to attend for the duration of the webinar and complete the online evaluation form at the conclusion of the activity. A letter certifying attendance and credit certification will be available, upon completion of the evaluation, via your CloudCME portal.

Planners and speakers have no conflicts of interest to disclose regarding this educational activity.

There is no commercial support for this activity.

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (1.50 hours), ANCC Contact Hours (1.50 hours), Non-Physician Attendance (1.50 hours)