From Caregiver to Patient: Hospice Nurse Allyson's Final 39 Days

Course overview

As hospice nurse Allyson navigated her final 39 days with brain cancer, her last wish was to transform her dying experience into a teaching tool that would spark meaningful conversations about death and dying. Participants will watch the award-winning short film A Butterfly Has Been Released, which follows Allyson's journey as she connects with family, friends, and hospice colleagues, hosts a living funeral, and chooses a natural green burial. Following the film, Kenneth Doka, Keisha Fowlks, and Megan Heller, will discuss how the film illustrates issues such as the goals of end-of-life care in hospice and palliative care, as well as how the hospice interdisciplinary team can support patients and families by facilitating meaning making and ritual and how those processes can support grievers.