End-of-Life Doula Training Workshop
Workshop content- Who will benefit from this training?
- Future Workshops ~ Advance Care Planning
- The Instructors
Merilynne Rush & Patty Brennan
November 18–20, 2016 ~ Ann Arbor, Michigan
Early Bird Registration Discount ends 10/21/16
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Workshop Content for End-of-Life Doula Training
Day 1: Supporting the Dying Person and Their Family ~ The Doula Model of Care
- What is a “good death”?
- Exploring the dying process
- The needs of the dying and the family
- Biopsychosocial-spiritual-cultural aspects
- Introducing the doula model of care
- Accompanying the dying (holding vigil, creating a peaceful atmosphere)
- Facing fears and grief
- Hospice and Palliative Care
Day 2: Essential Skills for End-of-Life Caregivers
- Scope of practice
- Active listening and communication
- Family needs assessment
- Hands-on comfort measures & support
- Self-care for the caregiver(s)
- Networking and referrals
- EOL Doula practice considerations
Day 3: Natural After Death Care Workshop ~ Home Funeral and Green Burial
Day 3 can be taken alone or in conjunction with Days 1
and 2.
Home funeral and green burial represent a return to natural, simple and personal methods of honoring and caring for our dead. A home funeral can bring healing and comfort to friends and family and is a normal extension of hospice care at home. Participants will learn:
- Current funeral practices in the U.S.
- How to care for the body at home after death
- Creating sacred space and funeral ceremony or ritual
- Legal and cost considerations
- How to locate and work with a funeral director
- Special circumstances
- Green Burial (What is it and where is it available?)
- The importance of planning ahead
- How to form a circle of support
Who will benefit from this training?
- Family members and friends of the dying
- Hospice and palliative care providers
- Midwives and doulas
- Nurses and doctors
- Social workers
- Clergy, chaplains, celebrants
- Healers and therapists
- Those who provide home care and companion care
- Life coaches
- Death educators
- Those who want to prepare for their own death
This training is not designed to be a grief support group. We respectfully ask that if you have suffered a loss within the year prior to this workshop that you consider waiting before engaging this work or discuss your situation with one of the instructors prior to registering.
Future Workshops ~ Advance Care Planning
Merilynne Rush & Patty Brennan
January 21, 2017
Early Bird Registration Discount ends 12/23/16
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Become a Certified Respecting Choices® First Steps Facilitator. Training includes how to assist healthy adults to identify a healthcare advocate, discuss their values and wishes with their advocate, and complete an Advance Directive document. Those who complete the course receive certification as a First Steps Facilitator through Respecting Choices®.
Training Prerequisites
- Complete four online training modules.
- Initiate an advance care planning discussion with someone.
- Complete an Advance Directive practice document.
Respecting Choices®
Respecting Choices® is an international, evidence-based advance care planning (ACP) program with a key message: ACP is a process of communication rather than a signature on a document. This process enables individuals to:
- Understand their choices for future healthcare
- Reflect on personal goals, values, religious or cultural beliefs
- Talk to physicians, healthcare agents and loved ones about their preferences.
To be effective, this process of communication needs to be individualized, based on a person’s state of health and revisited at appropriate times.
The Instructors
Merilynne Rush RN, BSN has been working with families in transition for over 30 years, most of that time as a homebirth midwife, but also as a labor and delivery nurse, hospice nurse, home companion and Advance Care Planning (ACP) facilitator. She owns After Death Home Care and provides consultation about home funeral and green burial to individuals, families, community groups, healthcare providers and those in the funeral and cemetery business. Merilynne has a graduate certificate in Hospice and Palliative Studies and is a Certified Respecting Choices ACP Facilitator and Instructor. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Green Burial Council and previously on the boards of the National Home Funeral Alliance, Center for the Childbearing Year and the Michigan Midwives Association.
Patty Brennan BA has been a healthcare consumer advocate and educator for nearly 35 years. She is a certified ACP facilitator, a DONA International certified birth and postpartum doula trainer, and a retired home birth midwife. Patty has founded two community-based nonprofit doula programs in Michigan and is an expert in the doula model of care. She is the author of The Doula Business Guide and The Doula Business Guide Workbook, now required reading for certified doulas. Patty is the owner of Center for the Childbearing Year, Michigan’s premier doula training and childbirth education organization. She became interested in end-of-life issues after supporting two sets of parents through their final days and witnessing the remarkable similarities between the processes of birth and death.