The Interdisciplinary Team: Key Skills for Hospice Managers

Visit any hospice website and you will see at least one thing that is consistent in marketing materials: hospice care is provided by an interdisciplinary team. This is true because the values that underlie hospice insist that quality care focus on the “multi­ dimensions” of living and dying. Enter the manager! Skillful and well-coordinated teams require strong leaders. A manager’s ability to move teams through various stages of development, positive problem solving, and effective team meetings requires vision and expertise. Maintaining focus on patient/family-centered plans of care is yet another set of critical skills for managers. This MOP Level II module will provide “key skills for hospice managers” who share the belief that the interdisciplinary team can make or break exceptional care.

Module Objectives

After completing this module, participants will be able to:

• • • Define the term “interdisciplinary” as it applies to end-of-life care teams; List key Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) as they apply to the functioning of the interdisciplinary team;
    • Describe what makes a team effective including the expectations of both the leader and the team members and assess which of these characteristics are currently present in your team and which are needed to take your team to the next level;
    • Complete an initial assessment of your team meeting to define which tools are needed to produce concrete changes in the effectiveness, efficiency and effortlessness of the team meeting process;
    • Apply critical leadership skills to typical team leadership obstacles; Develop a summary of the “ideal” team.

The module will be instructor-facilitated and is conducted online over a period of four weeks. During this time, you will read online articles, complete assignments, develop solutions to case studies, and take part in ongoing online discussions. You can expect to spend 2 – 4 hours per week in these activities. Participants will determine their own schedules for completing the course work; online learning does not require that you be in a classroom at a set time, which is a perfect arrangement for busy hospice managers! Completion of the module does require, however, that you participate in weekly assignments and post them by designated dates.

Patricia A. Goodwin, ACSW, LCSW, ACHP-SW.
Patricia Goodwin has over 30 years of experience as a social worker in the health care field, including hospitals, long term care facilities, home health and hospice. She has provided direct service, supervised other social workers, coached the interdisciplinary team in assessment and problem solving, and has experience in promoting patient/family satisfaction through her positions as a patient representative and service improvement project manager.

As an advocate for ongoing education, Pat served for three years on the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care Association’s annual forum planning committee and was a member of NHPCO’s Professional Education Committee. She joined the online faculty for the Manager Development Program in 2013, working with most of the Level II modules.

While co-chairing a hospital ethics committee, she received extensive training in clinical ethics through the University of Pittsburgh Consortium Ethics Program and recently became a faculty member for the online Level 1 MDP Module Assessing Ethical Dilemmas.

Pat was fortunate to participate in leadership training provided by the Disney Institute to a hospital system; her social work degrees are from the University of Michigan.

Pat has a special interest in the psychosocial/spiritual dimensions of end-of-life care, clinical and organizational ethics and leadership development. In addition to talking to community groups on end-of-life topics, she has given professional presentations and workshops at the local and state level as well as nationally for NHPCO.  She currently serves on the Ethics Committee of a local hospice and assists hospice volunteer coordinators with facilitating training on end-of-life topics.

Please note: if you have taken prior online MOP courses, the course completion requirements have changed. For successful completion of the module, all participants must now complete all forums with a minimum grade for each forum of 80% or higher. In addition, all participants must complete the Course Assessment (exam) with a minimum passing grade of 80% and complete the course evaluation. A Certificate of Course Completion towards the Level II Designation of the Hospice Manager Development Program is then awarded along with CE/CME credit for interprofessionals, nurses, physicians, and healthcare professionals who have requested this in advance. If you have any questions, please contact the course faculty for clarification.

In support of improving patient care, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) 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.

Available Credit

• • • 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM
    • 8 Interprofessional Continuing Education credits
    • 8 Nurse Contact Hours

Joint Accreditation IPCE Credit Statement

This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 8 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.

CNE Credit Designation Statement
NHPCO designates this other/blended learning activity for 8 nursing contact hour(s). Nurses should claim only the contact hours commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CME Credit Designation Statement
NHPCO designates this other/blended learning activity for 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Certificate of Participation for Non-physician Healthcare Professionals: For participants* whose disciplines are other those above may request a Certificate of Participation for Non-physician Healthcare Professionals to submit to your accrediting bodies/licensing boards for continuing education credit. This certificate will indicate this activity was certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM. It is the responsibility of participants to submit the certificates to their accrediting bodies/licensing boards for approval. Unfortunately, NHPCO cannot guarantee its acceptance. To receive this certificate, you must complete all CE/CME requirements and indicate your desire to receive this certificate on the evaluation form.

The module fee is $150 for members and $250 for non-members.

Late Registration Information

Please note: Due to administrative constraints, if you register after the course begins, there is a late fee of $35.

Registration Cancellation Policy

All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to conferences@nhpco.org. A $25 processing fee will apply to all cancellations. Cancellations made on the day the module starts or afterward are not eligible for a refund.

5 – 9 registrants from the same organization and for the same course offering receive a 10% discount

10+ registrants from the same organization and for the same course offering receive a 20% discount

Contact conferences@nhpco.org with participant names and emails to register a group.