One of the most daunting challenges that health professionals face is caring for terminally ill children and their overwhelmed families.

On Saturday, September 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fairfield University's School of Nursing will sponsor a free educational workshop featuring speakers from the country's most prominent teaching hospitals who will discuss opportunities to improve end of life care of children and adolescents. Entitled, "Enhancing Comfort in Pediatric Palliative Care," it will specifically instruct attendees about comfort measures for young patients, and will focus on a holistic approach to care, including pain and symptom management, as well as spiritual and emotional interventions.

The keynote speaker is Nancy Kline, Ph.D., RN, CPNP, FAAN, director of Research of Evidence-Based Practice at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. A pediatric nurse practitioner, she will talk about pain and symptom management. She has more than 28 years of clinical experience working with children who have chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Dr. Kline's research interests include supportive care, symptom management, and patient safety. She has authored more than 85 journal articles and textbook chapters, and has given over 150 international presentations in 23 countries.

Joan Drescher, artist-in-residence at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, will discuss how art heals the body, mind and spirit. She is one of the founders of the Moon Balloon Project, a non-profit dedicated to helping children and their families in the healing process. Cindy Jayanetti, FNP, APRN, CPON, BC, director of the pediatric palliative program at Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, will discuss complementary therapies, and a panel of spiritual care coordinators from Masonicare Home Health and Hospice of Connecticut will take part in a panel discussion entitled, "Addressing Spiritual Needs for Children and Families."

Nurses, physicians, social workers, palliative and hospice care workers, chaplains, and others who provide care for this underserved patient population are invited to attend. The workshop will take place in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business Dining Room, on the Fairfield campus, and will include breakfast and lunch. To register, e-mail your name, title, affiliation, address and daytime phone number by September 15 to Cathy Tuttle, of the School of Nursing, at ctuttle@fairfield.edu .

The event - the second in a series of workshops presented by the School of Nursing - seeks to fill a void that exists nationwide in the education of pediatric nurses and related caregivers in caring for children with life limiting conditions and their grief stricken families.

Eileen O'Shea, DNP, RN, assistant professor of nursing at Fairfield and director of this initiative, said the event is an opportunity to share curriculum, research and resources with healthcare professionals. "The goal is to provide the most current education that is available."

The event supports a wider School of Nursing initiative to integrate into curriculum the teaching of communication, decision-making and other key skills vital in caring for terminally ill children and their parents and siblings. The curriculum will be taught to both undergraduates and graduate students.

The Frank Carroll Family is a sponsor of this event.

For more information about the School of Nursing, visit fairfield.edu/nursing . For directions to campus, visit www.fairfield.edu/directions .

Image: Fairfield University Assistant Professor Eileen O'Shea, left, at a School of Nursing pediatric palliative care workshop earlier this year. Also pictured is Fairfield graduate Robin Kanarek.

Posted On: 08-24-2010 10:08 AM

Volume: 43 Number: 26