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Stanford University
Supporting Families and Caregivers
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Stanford University

Supporting Families and Caregivers

This course is part of Palliative Care Always Specialization

Kavitha Ramchandran
Jan DeNofrio

Instructors: Kavitha Ramchandran

Instructors

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

4.8 (17 ratings)
Kavitha Ramchandran
Kavitha Ramchandran
Stanford University
5 Courses•9,474 learners
Jan DeNofrio
Jan DeNofrio
Stanford University
5 Courses•9,474 learners

3,461 already enrolled

5 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

(44 reviews)

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Recommended experience

Beginner level

We suggest you take the first four courses in Palliative Care Always before this course but you are not required. This course can be taken alone.

1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

5 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

(44 reviews)

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Recommended experience

Beginner level

We suggest you take the first four courses in Palliative Care Always before this course but you are not required. This course can be taken alone.

1 week to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
  • About
  • Outcomes
  • Modules
  • Recommendations
  • Testimonials
  • Reviews

What you'll learn

  • Describe several interventions to help with the emotions and coping of being a family member or caregiver of someone with serious illness.

  • Conduct a basic screen for appropriate adjustment in children.

  • Define caregiver burden and how to screen for it.

Skills you'll gain

  • Community and Social Work
  • Interpersonal Communications
  • Working With Children
  • Family Therapy
  • Child Development
  • Social Work
  • Hospice
  • Nursing and Patient Care
  • Patient Education and Support
  • Stress Management
  • Caregiving

Details to know

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Assessments

12 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer
Taught in English

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Palliative Care Always Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 5 modules in this course

This course takes a deep dive into the challenges families and friends of a patient with serious illness face and how you can care for and support them as a provider, social worker or family friend. Supporting Families and Caregivers especially focuses on the children of a patient with serious illness and their caregiver, and teaches you the best way to empower them to get the support they need. By the end of this course, you will be able to provide critical avenues of support for the people who are instrumental to your patients care, wellbeing and quality of life.

Stanford Medicine 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. Visit the FAQs below for important information regarding 1) Date of original release and Termination or expiration date; 2) Accreditation and Credit Designation statements; 3) Disclosure of financial relationships for every person in control of activity content.

Welcome to Supporting Families and Caregiver, the fourth course in the Palliative Care Always specialization. This course takes a deep dive into the challenges families and friends of a patient with serious illness face and how you can care for and support them as a provider, social worker or family friend. Supporting Families and Caregivers focuses especially on the children of a patient with serious illness and their caregiver, and teaches you the best way to empower them to get the support they need. By the end of this course, you will be able to provide critical avenues of support for the people who are instrumental to your patients care, wellbeing and quality of life. This module will provide you with information on the course structure and first steps.

What's included

3 readings2 assignments

3 readings•Total 4 minutes
  • First Steps•1 minute
  • Course Faculty•1 minute
  • Patient and Family Perspective•2 minutes
2 assignments•Total 20 minutes
  • Pre-Course Assessment•15 minutes
  • Reflection on Supporting Families and Caregivers•5 minutes

This module provides a review of the key concepts learned in the courses Essentials of Palliative Care, Symptom Management in Palliative Care, and Transitions in Care from Survivorship to Hospice. We realize that some learners are interested in only completing specific courses while others are moving through the entire specialization. The following videos are meant as a review for those who have not completed the other courses. You are not required to watch these videos if you feel you have a strong handle on the material. You can check your knowledge with the ungraded quiz in the next section and review the summary videos if necessary. Also contained in this module are the Sarah case study videos from Essentials of Palliative Care, Symptom Management in Palliative Care, and Transitions in Care from Survivorship to Hospice for those who want to review her story.

What's included

18 videos3 readings1 assignment

18 videos•Total 169 minutes
  • Basics of Palliative Care•15 minutes
  • Communication Skills•15 minutes
  • Psychosocial Support•3 minutes
  • Goals of Care/Advance Care Planning•4 minutes
  • Symptom Management•4 minutes
  • Transitions in Care•7 minutes
  • A New Diagnosis•6 minutes
  • Visit with a Palliative Care Social Worker•10 minutes
  • Goals of Care Visit•5 minutes
  • Visit with Palliative Physician•11 minutes
  • Visit with Palliative APN•13 minutes
  • Emotions and Coping•12 minutes
  • Visit with a Survivorship Nurse Part 1•14 minutes
  • Visit with a Survivorship Nurse Part 2•15 minutes
  • Delivering News of Recurrence•3 minutes
  • Spiritual Care Visit•8 minutes
  • A Transition in Care•6 minutes
  • Hospice Visit•11 minutes
3 readings•Total 12 minutes
  • Key Concepts in Palliative Care•1 minute
  • Key Concepts in Palliative Care•1 minute
  • Meet Sarah Foster•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 10 minutes
  • Palliative Care Knowledge Check•10 minutes

Clinicians can support families experiencing cancer by regularly assessing both the child’s adjustment and the parents’ ability and confidence in helping their children cope. Child and family guidance professionals can act as a resource. This module will review basic screening and assessment of child adjustment, and offer practical strategies to help families talk about difficult topics and maintain a sense of normalcy during serious illness.

What's included

5 videos7 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt

5 videos•Total 35 minutes
  • Caring for Jesse•15 minutes
  • Message for Jesse•3 minutes
  • Children Touched by Illness•6 minutes
  • Tips and Strategies•6 minutes
  • Making the Most of Today and Planning Forward•3 minutes
7 readings•Total 33 minutes
  • Scenes with Sarah•2 minutes
  • Optional Case Study•5 minutes
  • A Message to Jesse•1 minute
  • Introduction to Child and Family Guidance•3 minutes
  • Bereaved Children•10 minutes
  • References and Additional Reading•10 minutes
  • Module Resources•2 minutes
4 assignments•Total 54 minutes
  • Optional Case Study Questions•10 minutes
  • Legacy Projects•15 minutes
  • Knowledge Check•15 minutes
  • Module 3 Assessment•14 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Family Care•10 minutes

In this module we discuss the caregiver experience in detail, learn how to screen for caregiver distress and provide advice to support caregivers.

What's included

4 videos6 readings3 assignments1 discussion prompt3 plugins

4 videos•Total 25 minutes
  • Tim Talks to the Hospice Physician•6 minutes
  • The Caregiver Experience•7 minutes
  • Identifying Caregiver Burden•5 minutes
  • Supporting Caregivers•6 minutes
6 readings•Total 19 minutes
  • Scenes with Tim•1 minute
  • Introduction to Supporting Caregivers•1 minute
  • Caregiving and Depression•3 minutes
  • Cultural Influence on Caregiver Burden•2 minutes
  • References and Additional Reading•2 minutes
  • Module Resources•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 21 minutes
  • Supporting Tim•5 minutes
  • Knowledge Check•8 minutes
  • Module 4 Assessment•8 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Caregiver Burden Discussion•10 minutes
3 plugins•Total 50 minutes
  • Tim's Journey•15 minutes
  • Caregiver Emotions and How to Support Them•15 minutes
  • Grief and Bereavement•20 minutes

Congratulations on completing the course content. You have a few more step to complete the course. First review your reflection, next complete a peer-reviewed course project and then take the final exam. We hope you have enjoyed the course and look forward to seeing you in other classes!

What's included

1 reading2 assignments1 peer review

1 reading•Total 2 minutes
  • Claiming CE Credits from Stanford Medicine•2 minutes
2 assignments•Total 40 minutes
  • Reflection Revisited•10 minutes
  • Final Exam•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
  • Provider-Patient Communication•120 minutes

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.

Instructors

Instructor ratings

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

4.8 (17 ratings)
Kavitha Ramchandran
Kavitha Ramchandran
Stanford University
5 Courses•9,474 learners
Jan DeNofrio
Jan DeNofrio
Stanford University
5 Courses•9,474 learners

Offered by

Stanford University

Offered by

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is an American private research university located in Stanford, California on an 8,180-acre (3,310 ha) campus near Palo Alto, California, United States.

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Frequently asked questions

Dates and Duration Original Release Date: 09/30/2023 Expiration Date: 09/29/2026 Estimated Time to Complete: 10 hours Accreditation In support of improving patient care, Stanford Medicine 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. Credit Designation American Medical Association (AMA) Stanford Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 10.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Stanford Medicine designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 10.0 ANCC contact hours.  ASWB Approved Continuing Education Credit (ACE) – Social Work Credit As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Stanford Medicine is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Stanford Medicine maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this activity receive 10.0 enduring material continuing education credits. American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) - Enduring Materials Stanford Medicine has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This enduring activity is designated for 10.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until 09/29/26. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation. Disclosures Stanford Medicine adheres to the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. There are no relevant financial relationships with ACCME-defined ineligible companies for anyone who was in control of the content of this activity. 

View more at https://stanford.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?P=0&EID=47065 Opens in a new tab

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.

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