(41) What They Didn’t Teach You in Grad School: Talking About End-Of-Life with Your Patients

Friday, February 3, 2023

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM CST

Location: 24

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate

Invited Speaker(s)

JB

Jodi Baxter, AuD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Audiology
The Ohio State University, Ohio, United States

Handouts
MR

Megan Robertson, MSW, LISW-S

Clinical Director
Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program, Inc.
Marble Cliff, Ohio, United States

Disclosure(s):

Jodi Baxter, AuD: No financial or non-financial relationships to disclose

Megan Robertson, MSW, LISW-S: No financial or non-financial relationships to disclose

Audiologists and speech pathologists who routinely care for adult patients are often faced with unexpected conversations about death and end-of-life; whether the patient is “joking” or freely sharing their prognosis and desiring an open conversation about hearing and/or communication and decision-making during end-of-life.
Most audiologists and speech pathologists are not provided with formal education surrounding death and end-of-life and often are unsure and uncomfortable on how to respond in these conversations. The goal of this talk is to prepare clinicians to have these conversations more confidently and comfortably, based on the evidence available and expertise from a mental health professional who worked in hospice for many years. Additionally, this presentation will highlight the need for formal death education for all healthcare professionals and discuss the significant role of hearing and communication at the end of life.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

Describe the possible emotionals in patients facing end-of-life
Prepare clinicians with response tactics when patients bring up death or end-of-life
Discuss the roles hearing and communication play in end-of-life