Pediatric Death | 4-Week Course

Do you want to learn more about Pediatric Death*? Are you interested in hearing about the experience of childhood death from bereaved parents and those who support them? Do you wish to deepen your understanding of how to hold space for children and their families at the end of life? Then this course is for you!

Join End-of-Life Educator, Pediatric Death Doula, and bereaved mom Rachael Klos, for 4 weeks of Zoom calls filled with live instruction, discussion, and engaging guest speakers.

Through this 4-week offering, we will dig into stories of pediatric death and we’ll introduce you to the benefits of Pediatric Palliative Care. Together, we will examine the complexity of family dynamics and the sibling experience, and explore the breadth and depth of grief for bereaved families. Students will immerse themselves in weekly resources and reflections between Zoom calls.

Don’t miss this important opportunity to safely explore the tender topic of pediatric death and learn how to hold space for children and their families at the end of life.

*Please note: Pediatric Death, for purposes of this course, is defined as the death of a child from infancy through young adulthood at 18 years of age. Neonatal death is the death of a live-born infant before 28 days of life, so "infant" in this course is older than 28 days of life.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

This enrichment course has no prerequisites. This course is for bereaved parents, healthcare professionals working with children and their families, anyone who is or wants to support a child and/or their family through a pediatric chronic or terminal illness, and those who want to understand the difference between a tender pediatric death versus a death from aging and the grief that accompanies those circumstances.

OUR PROGRAM PROVIDES YOU WITH THE SKILLS TO:

• Approach childhood death and grief with empathy and curiosity rather than fear and devastation.

• Define and discuss Pediatric Death.

• Understand and empathize with personal stories of Pediatric Death.

• Determine how Pediatric Palliative Care benefits children and families.

• Understand how extended families are affected by a terminal diagnosis, including learning from bereaved siblings.

• Know how to talk about death with children.

• Acknowledge the impact of grief on families - including complicated and traumatic grief.

• Understand the bereavement of parents, including the essential components of ritual and ceremony, finding support, and making meaning.

• Transform the landscape of grief for families and their support circles after the death of a child.

• Benefit from a rich list of multi-media resources on Pediatric Death.

• For graduates of Sacred Passage End of Life Doula and/or Conscious Dying Coach Programs, participants will have the opportunity to adapt the Best 3 Months: End of Life Care Planning Tool for children and families following the course.

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION / CERTIFICATE:

Throughout this course, participants will:

• • Read "Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief" by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore .

  • Familiarize yourself with the online learning platform Canvas.

  • Attend 4 weekly live video conferencing calls on Zoom - for a total of 8 hours (recordings will be made available).

  • Move through course Modules in Canvas together, in order, between live video conferencing calls.

  • Participate in discussion with guest speakers and with one another, absorb information sharing through powerpoint presentations, and reflect for brief periods of journaling all throughout Zoom calls.

  • Commit to completing weekly homework - reading articles, watching interviews and videos, listening to podcasts, and submitting written reflections.

  • Have access to a computer, internet, and technical fluency sufficient to satisfy course requirements.

  • Submit written reflections for review (if seeking a Certificate of Completion).