Paramedics receive little education on grief and bereavement. As paramedicine integrates palliative approaches to care, it has become very apparent paramedics are under-prepared for the crucial role they play in supporting patients and families in grief and recognizing and responding to their own grief reactions.
In this episode we talk to Cheryl Cameron and Tyne Lunn about how paramedicine is evolving to include the provision of palliative care. We start by defining palliative care and talk about how paramedics are well positioned to support patients with palliative care needs, already seeing this patient population in our routine 911 caseload, but needs to do better to align the care we provide with people’s wishes.
Sponsored by:
Cheryl Cameron, MEd, ACP
cheryl@virtualhospice.ca
Twitter – @cherylcookie21
Cheryl Cameron is an Advanced Care Paramedic and Director of Operations with Canadian Virtual Hospice. She has held previous leadership, strategic policy, program development and education roles with Alberta Health Services EMS, Emergency Health Services (Ministry of Health, Government of Alberta) and Lakeland College. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Masters of Education in Health Sciences Education and Certificates in Adult/Continuing Education and Occupational Health and Safety. She provides both educational and operational program expertise on a number of national initiatives in the sphere of paramedicine and palliative care as Faculty with Healthcare Excellence Canada. She is a PhD candidate with Monash University, a senior fellow with the McNally Project for Paramedicine Research, and her research interests include palliative care in paramedicine, mentoring, interprofessional/interdisciplinary education, quality and patient safety, diversity in leadership, and integrated care.
Tyne M. Lunn (she/her) ACP
tynelunn@gmail.com
As Project Coordinator, Tyne leads the Alberta Palliative Care Competencies and Education grant initiative. Tyne is an Advanced Care Paramedic, recently serving in a Community Paramedic Specialist role for the EMS Mobile Integrated Healthcare department of Alberta Health Services, Alberta, Canada; Lead, Culturally Proficient Care Working Group, Paramedic Association of Canada National Occupational Standards Profile (NOSP) 2023 Project, Canada; Member, Development Group, Paramedic Association of Canada NOSP 2023 Project, Canada; Outreach, Canadian Virtual Hospice, Canada; Member, McNally Project for Paramedicine Research, Canada; Alumni Coordination Team Member, Alberta Clinician Professional Practice Council, Alberta Health Services, Alberta, Canada. Tyne is an active volunteer, mentor, and educator – providing practice setting expertise on several provincial and national initiatives and is an engaged advocate for interprofessional care, health equity, and justice.
Paramedics receive little education on grief and bereavement. As paramedicine integrates palliative approaches to care, it has become very apparent paramedics are under-prepared for the crucial role they play in supporting patients and families in grief and recognizing and responding to their own grief reactions.
In this episode we talk to Cheryl Cameron and Tyne Lunn about how paramedicine is evolving to include the provision of palliative care. We start by defining palliative care and talk about how paramedics are well positioned to support patients with palliative care needs, already seeing this patient population in our routine 911 caseload, but needs to do better to align the care we provide with people’s wishes.
- MyGriefToolbox as one strategy and tool to address gaps in education/supports for paramedics
- Scale and spread of this approach across Canada
- Importance of person, family and caregiver centered approach
- Psychosocial support, system navigation, and compassion can be provided by all levels of paramedics
- De-bunking some myths about providing palliative care
They’ll introduce us to MyGriefToolbox, a set of free resources that have been developed in collaboration with Canadian Virtual Hospice to support paramedics as we provide a palliative care approach and psychosocial support to grieving individuals, families, and caregivers.
About MyGriefToolbox.ca – Canadian Virtual Hospice
Paramedics, grief experts, patients and families, and palliative care experts from across Canada were engaged in an iterative content development and review process to develop eight online modules produced in English and French (MyGriefToolbox.ca/MesOutilsDeuil.ca). The modules provide guidance in supporting patients and families in acute grief, outline practical strategies that paramedics can integrate into their practice, and suggest ways to constructively manage the stress of working with people at the end of life.
Significant opportunity exists for educators, regulators, and employers to integrate MyGriefToolbox.ca into entry to practice or continuing education. MyGriefToolbox.ca is a strong example of a new and successful interdisciplinary partnership that leveraged Canadian Virtual Hospice’s clinical expertise and excellence in deploying digital content to develop a nationally accessible, free, and bilingual resource relevant to paramedicine.
- MyGriefToolbox (and other resources on the Learning Hub) have been accredited/approved for continuing education credits by provincial regulators, employers and base hospitals.
- Access to the modules is free and can be revisited at any time.
Additional resources and learning opportunities
The Canadian Virtual Hospice provides support and personalized information about advanced illness, palliative care, loss and grief, to people living with illness, family members, people working in healthcare, educators, and researchers.
Additional learning opportunities for healthcare providers (including paramedics) can be found on the Learning Hub. Key resources that may be useful to refer grieving individuals and families to are also listed below.
The Learning Hub |Centre d’apprentissage
The Learning Hub is your gateway to free, evidence-informed learning modules to support your practice.
- Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
- Healthcare Provider Grief: Recognizing and Responding
- Grief Training: Building Healthcare Provider Capacity
- Methadone4Pain
https://www.virtualhospice.ca/learninghub
MyGrief.ca | MonDeuil.ca
To help understand and move through grief and to support others.
KidsGrief.ca | DeuilDesEnfants.ca
Guidance for explaining serious illness and death, and supporting kids from 2-18. For parents, guardians, educators, coaches.
CaringTogether.Life | SoignonsEnsemble.ca
For families caring for a seriously ill or dying child.
CaregiversCAN |Aide aux Aidants
If you are caring for someone who is ill or living with mobility challenges, these modules include useful information, strategies, and suggestions for preparing for preparing and providing care as illness advances.
https://www.virtualhospice.ca/caregiving
LivingMyCulture.ca
Featuring stories of people from 11 cultures speaking 12 languages to empower communities and educate healthcare providers.
As the push to stay at home as we age and the pressure on our hospitals it’s nice see the palatine program evolve, will be interested to see where this evolves over the years. Great job on the podcast
Thank you.