Difference between a Serious Illness Conversation & an Advance Directive
This online learning activity kicks off a series on advanced care planning. In this vignette between Dr. Ellen Fink-Samnick and Dr. Mary Beth Billie, the discussion centers around the importance of serious illness conversations, especially from the perspective of primary care providers.
Key topics include definitions, identifying patients with serious illnesses, and the role of primary care providers in facilitating these crucial conversations. The vignette highlights the need for training, the rewarding nature of these discussions, and addresses barriers to effective communication, such as lack of training, time constraints, and prognostic uncertainty.
Total Time: 17 minutes
Evaluation
Objectives
At the conclusion of this learning activity, the participant will be able to state two differences between a serious illness conversation & an advance directive.
Audience
The course is intended for providers, nurses, social workers, advanced practice providers, medical assistants, community health workers and other care team members who are seeking to expand their knowledge and skills.
Faculty
Mary Beth Billie, DNP, RN-BC, CCMMary Beth Billie is a registered nurse with several years of experience developing and managing utilization, case, disease and population health programs in provider and payer organizations. Mary Beth is certified in Case Management from both the CCMC and the AACN. She is an adjunct faculty member in the nursing programs at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois and Elmhurst University in Elmhurst, Illinois.
She received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Loyola University Niehoff School of Nursing. Her Capstone project was implementing a Serious Illness (SI) educational program and Serious Illness Protocol for nurse and social worker case managers in an Accountable Care Organization. Her Serious Illness project was published in the Professional Case Management Journal (Billie and Letizia, 2020).
Mary Beth is a sought-after National Speaker on this important topic presenting her Serious Illness program at the National Case Management, the National Ambulatory Care, and the Center to Advance Palliative Care Conferences. She teaches her Serious Illness Communication course to health care professionals including nurses, social workers, nursing students and physicians across the country.
Her most recent position was the Regional Executive Director of Population Heath at Loyola University Health System in Maywood Illinois where she developed and implemented care coordination and quality management programs for Loyola’s Physician Partners Accountable Care Organization. Mary Beth previously held leadership positions at Blue Cross of Illinois and United Health Care where she was responsible for National Care Management and Population Health programs.
Dr. Ellen Fink-Samnick is an award-winning industry entrepreneur who empowers healthcare’s interprofessional workforce. She is a subject matter expert on Ethics, Health Equity and Quality, Integrated Care, Interprofessional Teams, Professional Case Management, and Trauma-informed Leadership.
Dr. Fink-Samnick has a Doctorate in Behavioral Health with specialization in Health Equity, Integrated Care, Quality, Leadership, and Trauma-Informed Practice, She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Board-certified Case Manager, and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, as well as a member of the academic honor society, Delta Epsilon Tau.
Dr. Fink-Samnick serves the industry through a variety of roles with academic appointments at Cummings Graduate Institute of Behavioral Health Studies, George Mason University’s College of Public Health, and the University of Buffalo School of Social Work. She is a clinical supervision trainer and instructor for the National Association of Social Workers of Virginia and Metro DC, lead for Rise Association’s Social Determinants of Health Community, moderator of Ellen’s Ethical Lens on LinkedIn, and author of the blog, Ellen’s Interprofessional Insights. She is also a consultant for the Case Management Institute and moderator of their Case Managers Community.
Dr. Fink-Samnick is known for her fierce professional voice. Along with leadership and committee roles across credentialing entities and professional associations, she has served on the Gravity Project and the National Coalition for Social Work and Health. She is a board consultant to the American Association of Doctors of Behavioral Health, and editorial board member for the Professional Case Management Journal, and Case Management Monthly. Further information is available on her LinkedIn Profile.
Cost
FREE for members; FREE for non-members
This training is made available through funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Continuing Education Credits
Continuing Education Credit Available: Providers & Nurses
Session Contact Hours: 0.25
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: No one with the ability to control content of this activity has a relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company.
Successful Course completion includes:
- Participate in the full course.
- Complete the course evaluation to obtain continuing education credits.