Sharing the Experience 2017 has now come and gone, but the materials shared are available here for your reference. Thank you to all who were involved and attended!

Dr. Richard Shank returns for a second year as our conference emcee. Interspersing the announcements of the day with his own anecdotes and stories, Dr. Shank is wonderful at keep the mood right and the timing spot-on!

Dr. Emily Downing works in Palliative Care at Allina. In this open and frank talk, she shares what her development as a physician has been during the times she walks through final days with her patients.

Minnesota’s own Cathy Wurzer shares her experiences from a year of doing The Convenings – a series of community gatherings for story-telling and conversation about living life well.

Executive Director Karen Peterson shares what’s been happening with Honoring Choices and ACP this year.

On a daily basis we are asked to guide patients and families through their darkest moments, whether it’s a diagnosis of illness or the news that a cure cannot be found. In those moments, you are the best source of comfort, guidance and advocacy. As an expert in systems and collaboration, you are looked upon to provide the navigation. Are you experiencing barriers to giving patients and families what they need?

The PRACTICAL Tool was developed by the American Bar Association, with assistance from the National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making. Developed for lawyers, it is can also be applied in any situation where a person is contemplating guardianship for another person. This session will discuss how PRACTICAL approach will identify and facilitate less restrictive alternatives to guardianship in a person-centered manner. Led by Anita Raymond of Volunteers of America.

This is a topic gaining attention throughout the nation. Learn what is happening where, what lessons are being learned, and what the future might hold. All viewpoints and questions are welcome in this discussion, led by Rebecca Thoman, MD.

Are you confident in your abilities to accurately respond to questions about organ, tissue and whole body donation? Do you know the differences in donation for transplant as opposed to donations for research? Do you know what checking the box on a MN driver’s license really means? Answers to these and more provided by John LeMay of LifeSource.

“Easy” or “Simple”? “Needs” or “Choices”? New research tells us which words, phrases and terms resonate best with patients and their loved ones. Learn ‘words to use and words to lose’ in this session. Led by John Maycroft of Optum Health.

Honoring Choices has been actively working on helping communities around the state develop their own, unique Advance Care Planning programs.

Authored by Light the Legacy founder Lynn Mackenzie, this play will be sure to evoke feelings of recognition and relevance. We’ll watch the recording and follow-up with discussion of what YOU would do!

Regions Hospital Chaplain Rob Ruff helps each of us learn how to respond to questions of spirituality. The Chaplain is the specialist, but all team members are generalists in the realm of spirituality with their patients. Learn how to be ready for this!

Note: support paperwork for claiming up to 7.0 hours of continuing education will be available for nurses and social workers. We cannot offer CMEs at this time. Other professions – please check with your state governing body to determine whether this conference will meet requirements for credit.