CPD courses for Hospice Nurses

A hospice nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in end-of-life care and provides medical and emotional support to patients and their families during the final stages of life. They work with patients at the end of life regardless of their age, so they can work with infants right through to the elderly. To provide care for end of life to patients, hospice nurses work in specialised hospice and palliative care settings. The focus is on improving the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses to ensure pain is properly managed and personalised support is provided with an individual care plan. To do this, some of their daily tasks may include administering medication, managing symptoms, providing emotional support to patients and their families, coordinating care with other healthcare professionals, and ensuring the patient’s comfort and dignity during their final days of life.

CPD is crucial for a hospice nurse to continue practising in the field of nursing. Caring for patients at the end of life is an extremely important job, so hospice nurses must always ensure that they are using the correct techniques to do their job to their best. We have a range of courses suitable for hospice nurses to support meeting regulatory requirements.

We have listed our top picks below:

• Administering Medication – this course will give you vital knowledge on how to correctly store, administer and dispose of medication in line with government legislation and guidelines.
• Care Certificate – the Care Quality Commission (CQC) expects health and social care providers to induct, support and train their staff appropriately. This course supports the acquisition of knowledge for the Care Certificate.
• Customer Service in Health and Social Care – in this course you will explore the importance of effective communication. You will also explore the importance of body language and appearance in communication and how you can improve your active listening skills. Finally, you will consider what a complaints handling procedure is and how you can handle a complaint using the skills that are covered in the course.
• Dementia Awareness – in this course you will cover everything that you need to know about dementia, from diagnosis to ongoing care. The course will also cover the care that can be provided for people living with dementia and will look in depth at a person-centred approach and how this can help people living with dementia to still maintain a good quality of life.
• Dignity in Care – this course will outline the legislation and guidance that relates to dignity in care and will discuss good practice for ensuring someone’s dignity while they are receiving care and support.
• Duty of Care – in this course you will explore Duty of Care in more detail, including in terms of the Code of Conduct for Health and Social Care Staff; you will explore the 7 Standards. You will explore the principles of implementing Duty of Care and will look at two case studies illustrating how different settings can meet Duty of Care requirements.
• End-of-Life Care – this course will help you to gain better knowledge of the policy which underpins end-of-life care. It will help you to learn about the delivery of great end-of-life care and improve your communication skills to strengthen working relationships during this period. You will also gain a better understanding of how to support the friends and family of the person that you are caring for.
• Incontinence and Catheter Care – in this course you will gain knowledge on catheters and how to care for catheters during day-to-day activities. Then you will move on to looking at faecal incontinence and what the emotional and social impacts can be and how carers can facilitate people to feel more comfortable within themselves. You will also explore the management options available for those with incontinence and the possible treatment routes available for those living with faecal or urinary incontinence.
• Moving and Handling in Care – this course will ensure that you understand the risks of incorrect handling in the care sector. The physical harm which can be caused to people will be explored and techniques to assess risk will be introduced. Correct procedures for using a wide range of different lifting equipment will also be covered in this course. Legislation and procedures relevant to care settings will be fully understood upon completion.
• Needles and Sharps – needles and sharps are something that everyone working in the healthcare industry should have good knowledge of. In this course we will be looking at the laws surrounding sharps, how employees can keep themselves protected, as well as using needles and sharps safely and why this is so important.
• Pain Control and Management in Care – this course will first look into what pain is and the types of pain individuals may experience. You will be introduced to identification methods of pain in individuals who may not be able to easily communicate their discomfort. The course will then go on to highlight the care plans that may be implemented to document the pains and their impacts.
• Person-Centred Care – this course will look in depth at person-centred care, including why it is important. You will also explore the NHS Compassion in Practice Strategy and how it relates to person-centred care. You will also learn how you can apply person-centred care to everyday working practice. You will also review laws and legislation relating to person-centred care, including the importance of record keeping, data protection and consent.