Connect with colleagues from across Alberta who deliver palliative and end of life care. This community of practice is ideal for clinicians, frontline champions, clinical educators, unit leaders and managers of hospices and palliative care units in Alberta and open to any site that delivers care to people with serious and life-threatening illnesses.

Members of this community of practice will have the opportunity to meet with other clinicians from the province to engage in discussions and explore topics such as continuing education, care delivery processes and best practice care.

Session: Exploring Goals of Care Designations (GCDs): Interpretation and Communication

Speaker: Jennifer Zelmer, RNBN, M.Ed, Education Consultant- Advance Care Planning Goals of Care, Calgary Zone, Assisted Living Alberta

Bio: Jennifer Zelmer is an Education Consultant for Assisted Living Alberta’s Advance Care Planning Goals of Care Program for the Calgary Zone. She graduated from the University of Calgary in 2003 with a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing and has worked as a Registered Nurse in Internal Medicine, General Surgery (post-op), Intensive Care and Colon Cancer Screening prior to pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education. Jennifer joined the Advance Care Planning/Goals of Care team in 2015. Jennifer is strongly committed to spreading knowledge and improving conversations around Advance Care Planning and Goals of Care as a way of enhancing health care delivery that reflects the unique wishes and values of each individual patient/client we serve.

Description: This session will examine the Goals of Care Designation (GCDs) Orders used in Alberta. Interpretation of the GCDs along with communication strategies and resources for discussing GCDs will be explored.