[3-day Short Course] Family Conferencing: Facilitating Difficult Healthcare Conversations and Decision-Making
Registration
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Course Brochure
View the full course details in the link below or share the brochure with your team.
About the Course
Healthcare conversations with patients and their family members can be challenging, especially in the context of disclosure of serious medical conditions and poor prognosis as well as preference sensitive treatment decision-making. This is so, as such conversations are by their nature value laden, emotionally charged and can have significant implications on the life of patients. Social Workers play an important role in supporting the healthcare team in carrying out such difficult conversations as well as attending to the patients’ and their family members’ cognitive and affective processing work. This course will equip Social Workers with the knowledge and skills related to breaking bad news, truthtelling and healthcare decision-making, which are critical to enable them to perform these supportive roles effectively.
Objectives
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the theoretical, legal and ethical frameworks influencing family conferencing and healthcare decision-making,
- Apply the relevant theoretical, legal and ethical concepts in case scenarios,
- Develop and implement case planning via strategies designed through the phases of prework, actual and post family conference,
- Demonstrate ability to plan and facilitate effective communication in the context of breaking bad news, and
- Demonstrate ability to plan and facilitate preference-sensitive treatment and care decision making.
Who Should Attend
Social Workers in health and social sectors who are required to work with clients and families in making healthcare decisions.
Course Fees
| Fees Description | Total Payable (incl. GST) |
| Full course fees | $2,779.50 |
| Pricing after SSG Funding* (Singapore Citizen below 40 years / Singapore Permanent Resident) | $833.85 |
| Pricing after SSG Funding* (Singapore Citizen aged 40 years and above) | $323.85 |
*SSG Funding Information: Participants must meet a minimum attendance of 75%, complete and submit all assignment(s), achieve a 'Competent' grade in assessment, and submit the feedback form in order to qualify for the funding. Failing which, full course fees (incl. GST) will be payable.
Contact us
For any questions about this course, email us at swkcpe@nus.edu.sg or call us at 6601 7323.
About the Instructors
Ms Karen Kwa
Head, Care and Counselling Department,
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Ms Karen Kwa obtained her Masters in Social Work, specializing in Family Therapy. She has 17 years of working experience as a Medical Social Worker. She has special interest in critical and end of life care. Some of her notable contributions include the development of Social Work practices in areas such as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Home Ventilation and Respiratory Support Service (HVRSS) and brain death and organ donation management in TTSH. She is passionate about patient centred care and had conducted a research examining the phenomenon of patient participation in treatment decision-making. She is also actively involved in transformative work, including development of new models of care, capacity building and capability building at both an institutional and national level.
Ms Candice Tan
Principal Medical Social Worker,
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Ms Candice Tan holds a Master of Science in Palliative Care. She has 13 years of experience working as a Medical Social Worker, providing and enhancing delivery of psychosocial support and endof-life care for patients and their families. Caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses has placed her at the heart of many important conversations, where what matters in life and death comes to the foreground of critical communication and decision-making. She has also been actively involved in developing training and capability building for grief, loss and bereavement care. In her current role as a Team Lead within the Community Health Teams at TTSH, Candice leads a multi-disciplinary team that collaborates with patients, community-dwelling residents and stakeholders in building towards a community of care for positive health and social wellness.
Ms Lin Jingyi
Principal Medical Social Worker,
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Ms Lin Jingyi started her Social Work career in the community sector at MINDS, working with adults with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers. She joined TTSH in 2012 as a Medical Social Worker and was working primarily with the population living with HIV and other infectious diseases. In 2019, she took a gap year to obtain her Masters of Law in Medical Ethics and Law in University of Hong Kong. In her current scope of work in helping patients with neurological conditions, she works closely with patients, family members and the multi-disciplinary healthcare team in the longterm care planning and/or end-of-life care, where ethical or legal considerations may arise.