Palliative and End of Life Care Certificate Curriculum

Sample plan of study 

There are four required courses in the Palliative and End of Life Care certificate program. The certificate includes 12 credits of graduate coursework.  

These plans are for illustrative purposes only and are subject to change. 

Summer start
Summer Credit Hours
BIOETHC 7010 3
Autumn   
Nursing 5111 3
Spring  
Nursing 7471 3
SOCWORK 5009 3
Autumn start
Autumn Credit Hours
Nursing 5111 3
Spring  
Nursing 7471 3
SOCWORK 5009 3
Summer  
BIOETHC 7010 3
Spring start
Spring Credit Hours
Nursing 7471 3
SOCWORK 5009  
Summer  
BIOETHC 7010 3
Autumn  
Nursing 5111 3
 
Required courses

Nursing 5111 (3 credits): Introduction to Palliative Care

Overview of palliative and end-of-life care issues and simulation skills practice for education of patients and families regarding primary palliative care. Prepares graduate level nurses and health science students to provide primary palliative care for patients across the lifespan with serious illness who would benefit from receiving palliative or hospice care. 

SOCWORK 5009 (3 credits): Family Caregiving: Contemporary Issues, Programs & Policies

Course provides students from a variety of disciplines with the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills to address the needs of individuals providing care for a chronically ill or disabled family member or friend. Programs and policies in place to support caregivers are analyzed and the contemporary challenges faced by caregivers are discussed. 

BIOETHC 7010: End of Life Ethics  

Over two-thirds of clinical ethics dilemmas involve end-of-life decision-making. End-of-life care and palliative care are growing fields. This course will engage the essential ethics issues involved in end-of-life care. Clinical cases and medical knowledge will be explored. The prevailing procedural ethics of our time will be utilized to discuss ethical dilemmas.  

Nursing 7471 (3 credits):  Pharmacologic and Non-pharmacologic Symptom Management for Palliative and End of Life Care 

Multidisciplinary symptom management strategies for patients receiving palliative or end of life care from both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic perspectives across the lifespan.