Payment options

You may pay in full or enroll in a payment plan. Information regarding scholarships can be found below, for those with financial need.

Course Description

Too many New Yorkers suffer at the end of life. Over the years we have heard from professionals across diverse fields who recognize a need for more advocacy. They often report feeling under-informed and ill-equipped to support the communities they work with. However, the need for advocacy, support, and innovation is greater than ever.

In response to this need, we created the End of Life Care Community Advocate Training program. This fully online, self-paced course trains professionals across disciplines to be better prepared to advocate for the communities they serve when planning for, or navigating, serious illness and the end of life. 

This course provides a comprehensive overview of advance care planning, palliative care, hospice and end of life care, and other related topics (see curriculum below). You may enroll at any time, and progress through the material at your pace. Your access to the course does not expire. 

While the course is entirely online, our team is available to answer questions and serve as a resource.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

  • Describe changes in death, dying, and disease in American society over time.
  • Identify common challenges faced when planning for or navigating the end of life.
  • Compare New York advance directives.
  • Summarize advance care planning goals and approaches.
  • Describe New York patient rights pertaining to advance care planning, palliative care, and hospice.
  • Examine the role of palliative care when treating patients with serious illness.
  • Describe communication methods and strategies for end of life conversations within a medical setting (e.g., goals of care).
  • Examine the role of hospice in the care of terminally ill patients.
  • Generate ideas for utilizing and integrating the course information and materials into community work.


Thank you to the New York Community Trust for supporting the development of this course.

Below, you will find additional information regarding the curriculum, CEUs, scholarships, FAQs, and testimonials. If you have any questions about the course, feel free to email us at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This course covers death, dying, and related subject matter that may be sensitive for some. The course includes film and text depicting real cases. We recognize that this content may be difficult; please use your discretion and consider whether this course is right for you at this time.

For more information, please scroll through the remainder of this page, or jump to:

Course Curriculum

Scholarships & Continuing Education

Testimonials

FAQs

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome!

    • How to Navigate the Course Platform

    • Welcome

    • Introduction and Contact Information

    • Course Overview and Learning Objectives

    • Your First Journal Entry

    • Tell Us About Yourself

    • Baseline familiarity
  • 2

    How Death & Dying Have Changed in America

    • Journal

    • Changes in Death & Dying

    • Being Mortal

    • Journal

    • Materials, Readings, and Resources (Optional)

    • Test Your Learning - How Death & Dying Have Changed in America
  • 3

    Advance Care Planning

    • Planning Ahead

    • What is advance care planning?

    • Advance Directives

    • Legal Perspective

    • Advance Directive Forms & Additional Information

    • Exercise - Completing an Advance Directive

    • Community Perspectives

    • Journal

    • Materials, Readings, and Resources (Optional)

    • Test Your Learning - Advance Care Planning
  • 4

    Journey with an Illness

    • Advocacy and the Illness Journey

    • What is palliative care?

    • The Journey of Palliative Care

    • Legal Perspective

    • The Role of Caregivers

    • Caring for the Caregivers

    • Community Perspectives

    • Advocacy Tips

    • Exercise

    • Materials, Readings, and Resources (Optional)

    • Journal

    • Test your learning - Journey with an Illness
  • 5

    Navigating the End of Life

    • Approaching the End of Life

    • Journal

    • Goals of Care

    • What is hospice?

    • Exploring Hospice

    • Hospice Stories Part 1 (Optional Part 2 in materials, readings, and resources)

    • A Conversation with Beth

    • Palliative Care and Hospice in New York- A Conversation with Laura Cunnington, MD

    • Legal Perspective

    • Exercise: Advocate Case Scenario

    • Community Perspectives

    • Patient-Controlled Death (Optional)

    • Materials, Readings, and Resources (Optional)

    • Journal

    • Exercise

    • Test your learning - Navigating the End of Life
  • 6

    Next Steps

    • Congratulations! Here's what's next...

    • Last Journal Entry

    • Additional Materials, Resources, Books, and Films for Continuing Education

    • Final Check-In

    • Feedback

Scholarships & Continuing Education

SCHOLARSHIPS

As a non-profit organization, we strive to keep our programs affordable and accessible. Therefore, we have obtained funding to enable us to offer scholarships to eligible individuals with financial need. Click here to learn more about our scholarships and to apply.

CONTACT HOURS/CEUS

For social workers: End of Life Choices New York, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0464. This course will count for 20 contact hours. 

For CHES/MCHES: We are a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc (provider # 1148347). This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to 20 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available are 10. Continuing Competency credits available are 10.

For all other professionals:  Some credentialing/licensing agencies require that an education provider be formally approved, while others simply require their members to report their education to the agency. We are currently working toward accreditation/approval to offer continuing education for other professions (in addition to those above). Each credentialing agency has different algorithms for determining CEUs per hour. We recommend checking in with your credentialing agency regarding requirements.  

All participants receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course noting that this is a 20 hour course.

Testimonials

"I liked everything [about this course]! The planning, the directives, the care, legal aspects, VSED, and many more! The real life videos touched my heart so deeply! The course materials and resources are helpful. The presentation and the content are exceptional!"

"I will use my new-found knowledge to be a better advocate for my patients. With the new terminology and language, resources and facilities, and a true appreciation for what one's "end of life" can look like, I can not only do myself some due diligence, but I can inform those directly in my circles, and relay this information to those I come across who may benefit from this information."

"I will use what I have learned in this course to be an advocate for more education around end of life care. I am in the public health field, so now being more familiar with this issue and how it is an issue and how it can be addressed from a population standpoint and not just an individual standpoint in order to spread awareness and increase utilization in populations that would benefit."

"I plan to frequently refer back to this course prior to my patient interactions in my clinical rotations. I also plan to share ideas, strategies, and problem-solving skills from this course with my classmates and colleagues."

"The course introduced me to a lot of basics and terminology about EOL that I was not aware about."

"Very impressed with the speakers' knowledge and compassionate attitudes. Felt the material was very well covered."

-

"I genuinely enjoyed the mix of real life patient encounters, the legal background which I feel provided clarity regarding the role of law in end of life care, and the emphasis on the unique issues in certain communities."

"I liked the strong focus on advocacy and the practical applications of the information shared."

FAQ

  • Is this course right for me?

    Do you feel a calling to advocate for the community you serve to improve experiences at the end of life, but currently feel unprepared or under-informed? Do you recognize that our society needs to do more to support individuals when planning for and navigating the end of life? Do you want to learn more about how suffering can be prevented and addressed? Are you curious about what rights patients and families have when accessing and seeking end of life care?

    This course is for any individual who works with communities that could use additional support planning for or navigating the end of life. There is no specific skill/knowledge/experience/background that you are expected to have before taking this course. This course is intended to provide comprehensive information so professionals can better advocate for the communities they serve.

  • Approximately how long will this course take to complete?

    The course takes approximately 20 hours to complete, and you can move through at your own pace (there is no deadline).

  • Is the content NY specific?

    The content, including policy reviews, were designed for individuals in New York, as we are a NY-based organization. Professionals in other states may still find the content useful, but should be aware that the course may not be entirely relevant to their area.

  • Can I get CEUs or contact hours?

    For social workers: End of Life Choices New York, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0464. This course will count for 20 contact hours.

    For CHES/MCHES: We are a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc (provider # 1148347). This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to 20 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available are 10. Continuing Competency credits available are 10.

    For all other professionals: Some credentialing/licensing agencies require that an education provider be formally approved, while others simply require their members to report their education to the agency. We are currently working toward accreditation/approval to offer continuing education for other professions (in addition to those above). Each credentialing agency has different algorithms for determining CEUs per hour. We recommend checking in with your credentialing agency regarding requirements. All participants receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course noting that this is a 20 hours course.

  • Do you offer discounts to organizations & groups?

    Yes! If you would like to offer this course to your team, please click here to fill out the form and we will be in touch.

  • Do you offer scholarships?

    Yes! As a non-profit organization, we strive to keep our programs affordable and accessible. Therefore, we have obtained funding to enable us to offer scholarships to eligible individuals with financial need. To learn more about our scholarships and to apply, please click here.

  • What kind of content is in the course?

    The course includes text, readings, videos, quizzes, journaling, and exercises. We also include additional, optional readings and materials so you can continue to explore the topics if you wish. The quizzes must be passed in order to continue, but may be retaken if needed. The journaling and exercises are not submitted but we strongly recommend completing them as they will help facilitate and enhance your learning.

  • What is your refund policy?

    We are unable to offer refunds at this time.

  • What if I have other questions about this course?

    If you have questions about this course, please feel free to email us at [email protected]