This end-of-life course offers Barbara Karnes’ wisdom and guidance based on her years working with terminally ill patients and their families. The learner will review the basic timeline of the dying process, the keys signs of approaching death, common changes in the labor pattern, and tips for how to assist the client and their family during these difficult transitions. The basic lessons from this course can be adapted to meet any religious or cultural beliefs.

Who is Barbara Karnes?

Barbara Karnes is an award-winning end-of-life educator, award-winning nurse, who won the NHPCO Hospice Innovator Award in 2018, and was the 2015 International Humanitarian Woman of the Year!

While at the bedside of hundreds of people during the dying process, Hospice Pioneer Barbara Karnes noticed that each death was following a near-identical script. Each person was going through the stages of death in almost the same manner, and most families came to her with similar questions. These realizations led Barbara to sit down and write Gone From My Sight, “The Little Blue Book” that changed the hospice industry.

Discuss the two ways to die and how personality plays a part in the dying process.
Describe the basic timeline of the dying process.
List the three key signs of approaching death that often appear in the months and weeks before death.
Spot common changes in the labor pattern and assist clients accordingly in the hours and minutes before death.
Recognize important considerations that often occur before death and respond in an empathetic way to comfort the client and his or her family.