This month's topic is:  Palliative and End of Life Care - Advanced Directives

Facilitated by John Knapp, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN
Palliative Care Coordinator, James J. Peters VAMC

Direct link to the forum:
Pal and End of Life Care Discussion Forum

Join your fellow Geriatric Scholars Community participants in a discussion on Palliative and End of Life Care:  Advanced Directives

The live facilitation will take place on May 23, from 1pmEST to 2pmEST. The discussion forum will remain open for all participant afterwards.

Facilitator:  John Knapp, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN
Palliative Care Coordinator, James J. Peters VAMC

Case:  Meet Bill and Sharon
Bill and Sharon are married.  Bill is a retired Army veteran and Sharon his wife, is a "war bride" who came to the U.S. after WWII.  They have four children.  Bill is four years older than Sharon. He was born in 1920.  When he reached the age of 65, he received a diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma.  Bill and Sharon had never had any discussions about advanced directives.  What should they be asking each other, and with whom should they have these discussions, and how can these discussions be documented for future use?

Resources:
http://theconversationproject.org/ - The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care

https://www.mypcnow.org/fast-facts -  Palliative Care "Fast Facts & Concepts" provide practical & peer-reviewed summaries on key topics important to palliative care clinicians and trainees.  The free app is available on the Android and iPhone platforms.

John Knapp is an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, and is currently the Palliative Care Coordinator at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY.  John is a graduate of The New York University College of Nursing, where he earned both his BSN and his MSN.  Prior to working at the Bronx VA, he worked as a med-surg nurse at the NYU Langone Medical Center, and as a home hospice nurse for Calvary Hospital's Calvary@Home program.  As a nurse practitioner he has worked for MJHS doing home visits that combined both primary and palliative care.  John is an Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (ACHPN®)