A free online course supports health and social care workers in providing palliative or end of life care.
Sheffield Hallam University partnered with St Luke’s Hospice to launch the free online course. It provides a flexible learning opportunity based on conversations about death and dying, increasing awareness of the needs and experiences of patients nearing the end of life and understanding the pressures being faced by carers.
The Sheffield Hallam Open Online Course (SHOOC®) is targeted at members of a multi-professional team working with patients who are receiving palliative or end of life care, including care homes as well as patients and carers. It aims to support nurses, allied health professionals, other professions outside health and social care, volunteers, public and service users to promote patient centred care through raising awareness of the needs of patients transitioning from palliative to end of life care.
St Luke’s Hospice welcomed the chance to strengthen ties with Sheffield Hallam and bring their experience and expertise to help shape the course. The course devotes a week to each of the 4 main themes:
- Talking about death and dying
- Spiritual and cultural aspects of End of Life Care
- Preparing for dying
- Bereavement
The course provides a unique opportunity for participants to reflect on their own beliefs about death and dying and to engage in conversations about end of life, learning from the experiences of patients, carers and specialists in the field.