Impact: Palliative Care Communication Workshop for Social Workers

This interactive workshop is designed to equip social workers with essential skills to effectively discuss prognosis and goals of care with patients, families, and interprofessional colleagues. Through a combination of didactic content, facilitated group discussions, and experiential learning exercises, participants will gain practical tools for navigating critical conversations that arise in the context of serious illness.

Originally developed in response to requests from ICU staff and supported by a University of California grant, the workshop has expanded beyond its pilot phase and is now available to interdisciplinary team members across all care settings. The program emphasizes interprofessional collaboration and the integration of palliative care principles into everyday practice. Participants will explore the vital roles of various disciplines in palliative care, learn strategies for conducting effective goals-of-care discussions, and discover resources to support patients and families in both inpatient and outpatient environments. Course description continued...

Facilities Support Services Building, Room 2030
4800 2nd Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Date: Sept. 3, 2025

North Addition Office Building, Room 1001
4301 X St.
Sacramento, CA 95817
Date: Dec. 3, 2025

Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Code: DAHS-NGNIPCCW25-ACE
Capacity: 3
Waiting List: Yes

Continuing Education Contact Hours

UC Davis Heath - Center for Professional Practice of Nursing, provider #1866, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 5/20/2025 – 5/20/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 6.75 total continuing education credits.

Continuing Education Certificate

The continuing education (CE) certificate will be issued within 30 days after course. The CE certificate will be available for download in UC Learning Center for UC Davis Health employees and sent by e-mail to community registrants.

Course Completion Requirements

CE credit will not be awarded for this program session if the participant does not attend the course in full.

For an in-person event, participant must sign in on official roster, be present for the entire course, and complete an evaluation and attestation of attendance. Participant must sign attestation of participation in activity for all live, synchronous activities no later than the end of the day that the activity was offered (for a multi-day course, attestation must be turned in each day).

Registration

UC Davis Health Employees

Registration Deposit $25
Register

Register through the UC Learning Center.
Call our office at 916-734-9790 to make your deposit by credit card.

Registrations are approved after your deposit is received. Registration deposit is returned upon completion of class.

Cancellation must be requested five days before the class date to receive a deposit refund.

Community Registrants

Registration Fee $68
Register

Cancellation must be requested five days prior to class date to receive a full refund. A $25 service fee will be charged after this date.

Registration Deadline

Registration deposit or fee must be received by 4:30 p.m. on the last business day before the class.

Course Description Continued

Learning Objectives

Identify the different members of the healthcare team and their role in palliative care.
Describe two challenges in ensuring that prognosis and GOC are discussed.
Describe at least one ethical and/or professional responsibility of healthcare providers to families.
Describe at least one way how health care providers can facilitate communication about prognosis and goals of care among families and providers.
Discuss at least one way how unintended or implicit bias can contribute to communicating with patients, families, and physicians about prognosis and goals of care.
Identify three different care teams available within the organization (inpatient and/or outpatient) that can be utilized as a resource.
Discuss how learning exercises provide real world application of learner directed acquisition of skills for critical conversations.
Identify and describe the three key types of conversations that occur in palliative and end-of-life care, including their purpose and impact on patient-centered decision-making.
Describe a roadmap for eliciting family understanding of prognosis and goals of care.
Detail at least two core communication skills used to accomplish this a goals of care discussion.
Demonstrate use of the road map and at least two skills to communicate with a family member about prognosis and goals of care.
Describe a roadmap for collaborative patient care.
Detail at least two skills that encourage collaborative negotiation.
Demonstrate use at least two skills to encourage collaborative negotiation and a physician’s attendance at family meeting.
Describe the recommended structure of a family meeting.
Detail at least two communication skills for providing emotional support and ensuring that family informational needs are addressed.
Demonstrate at least two communication skills to help ensure that family informational and emotional needs are addressed in a multidisciplinary family meeting.
Examine hidden costs of caring for the palliative care population.
Reflect on at least one personal experience with palliative care.
Describe at least two protective practices to address and prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.
Discuss at least one communication skill that the participant will apply to their professional practice.

Instructor Bios

Misty Cahoon, M.S.N., R.N., N.P.D.-B.C. has 16+ years of nursing experience, including 7+ years working in Nursing Professional Development. Misty has been a, End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) trained instructor and has been coordinating and facilitating ELNEC since 2019.
Janice Curtin, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., A.C.H.P.-S.W., is an inpatient Palliative Social Worker at UC Davis, previously at Marshall Medical Center, and has been an Impact instructor since 2021.
Valerie Froman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. is a Palliative Care Social Worker at UC Davis, with over 12 years of experience in palliative care and 28 years of experience in hospital and clinical settings.
Rev. Christine Haider-Winnett is a Board-Certified Chaplain serving Palliative Care and Inpatient Hospice at UC Davis Medical Center. She holds a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion, a BA in Peace and Global Studies from Earlham College, and a Certificate in Women’s Studies in Religion from the Graduate Theological Union. She completed her CPE (chaplaincy) residency at John Muir Medical Center, Concord. Christine lives in Davis with her husband and two young children.
Laura King, M.Div is a hospital chaplain with UC Davis. She holds a Master of Divinity and six units of training in clinical pastoral education. She is experienced in palliative and hospital care.
Monica Miller, M.S., R.N., C.C.R.N., has been a critical care nurse for 19 years, is an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) trainer, and currently serves on the Bioethics and Schwartz Rounds Planning Committees. Monica’s thesis work involved exploring critical care nurses’ understanding of palliative care in the ICU setting. Monica has been facilitating the Impact class since taking the first course offered at UC Davis. Monica also facilitates the Reigniting the Spirit of Caring and See Me as a Peron courses.
Tammy Myers, M.S.N., F.N.P.-C, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over ten years of experience. She has spent the past eight years specializing in palliative care and currently serves as the Adult Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner at UC Davis Health. Tammy earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University, Sacramento, and completed her nurse practitioner training and Master of Science in Nursing at Samuel Merritt University.
Verona Noel, N.P. is one of the Adult Palliative Care Nurse Practitioners at UC Davis Health, bringing four years of experience in Hospital Medicine and one year in Palliative Care. She specializes in comprehensive symptom management, advanced communication, and providing compassionate support to patients and families facing serious illness. Verona is especially skilled in facilitating end-of-life discussions and is committed to delivering empathetic, patient-centered care.
Megan Nolan, M.S., B.S.N., R.N., C.C.R.N., has over 15 years of registered nursing experience, with focus in critical care and oncology. Megan is currently a clinical nurse in the UC Davis critical care float pool. Megan completed an oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist master’s degree from UCSF in 2012. Megan is passionate about palliative care, feeling that the Impact course is especially meaningful in empowering bedside nurses and healthcare providers to play a central role in palliative care conversations.
Jennifer Owens, N.P., is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner on the STEPS Team (Pediatric Palliative Care) at UC Davis Health. She has been practicing as a pediatric nurse practitioner since 1994, with the majority of her career focused in pediatric oncology. In addition, Jennifer spent three years working in pediatric orthopedics at Shriners Hospital for Children – Northern California.
Allison Ryan, M.S.N., R.N., C.H.P.N, C.M.S.R.N. is a nurse with over ten years of experience in healthcare. She has served as an Inpatient Hospice Nurse at UC Davis for more than four years, specializing in end-of-life care. In her role, Allison actively facilitates educational materials and presentations for the inpatient Hospice Program and frequently participates in goals-of-care conversations to support patients and their families during critical moments.
Ashley Vieira, D.N.P., N.P.D.A.-B.C., C.C.R.N. has been a Registered Nurse since 2009 with experience in adult critical care. Ashely’s Master’s thesis focused on barriers to palliative care within the hospital. She has been an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) trained instructor since 2019 and has been coordinating and facilitating IMPACT since 2019.
Bradley Waples, R.N., M.S.N., C.N.L. is an Inpatient Hospice Nurse at UC Davis for the past two years. Prior to his current role, Bradley worked as a bedside RN for 5 years. Bradley specializes in collaborating with families, patients, and the health care team to optimize experience and quality of end-of-life.
Amy Warner, R.N., B.S.N., C.C.R.N., C.H.P.N. is an Inpatient Hospice Nurse at UC Davis for the past three years. Prior to her current role, Amy spent 4 years in Trauma-Surgical Critical Care. Amy's expertise is providing compassionate, patient-centered care at end-of-life for hospice patients and their families.
Kimberly Young, L.C.S.W., M.S.W. is a licensed clinical social worker for UC Davis Health. She received her master’s in social work 15 years ago and is currently working as an advanced care planning social worker within the department of palliative care.

Agenda (PDF)

References

Available in class and by request.

Contact Us

916-734-9790
cppn@health.ucdavis.edu

Coordinators

Misty Cahoon, M.S.N., R.N., N.P.D.-B.C.
Professional Development Specialist
mdcahoon@health.ucdavis.edu

Ashley Vieira, M.S., R.N., N.P.D.A.-B.C., C.C.R.N.
Professional Development Specialist
afvieira@health.ucdavis.edu

Classes