Supporting Interprofessional Engagement in Serious Illness Conversations: An Adapted Resource

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care Nursing
• Healthcare Communication
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Effective communication is essential in palliative care for patients with chronic life-limiting illnesses and their families.
• Conversations about future decline and care preferences are often avoided, leading to missed care opportunities.
• The Serious Illness Care Program and its guide were adopted in British Columbia to improve these conversations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the need for enhanced guidance for nurses and allied health in utilizing the Serious Illness Conversation Guide.
• To tailor the guide for interprofessional use across various healthcare settings.
• To focus on the roles of nurses and allied health in serious illness communication, prognosis communication, and provide practice scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Adoption of the Serious Illness Care Program and the Serious Illness Conversation Guide.
• Conducting workshops for interprofessional healthcare team members.
• Informing adaptations based on workshop feedback to create a tailored clinician reference guide.

Main Results:

• Development of an interprofessional clinician reference guide tailored for nurses and allied health.
• Focus on the specific roles of nurses and allied health in serious illness communication.
• Inclusion of prognosis communication strategies and role-play scenarios relevant to non-physician practice.

Conclusions:

• The adapted guide provides essential support for nurses and allied health in conducting serious illness conversations.
• Enhanced guidance improves prognosis communication and facilitates better patient-centered care.
• The tailored approach optimizes the use of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide across diverse clinical settings.