The requirements to complete the POLST Champion Certificate Program include:
- 10 online training modules
- 8 Online Topics Modules
- 2 Setting-Specific Modules
- In-person skills training
- Examination
- Ongoing support/coaching and community
- Certificate continuation requirements
POLST Online Topics Modules cover key components of the POLST process, purpose, form validity, content, signatures, and legal requirements. The recorded trainings are now available on-demand. Each module is 30 minutes. Certificate participants must complete all eight (8) modules.
The series of all eight (8) modules can be attended for 4 CEs/CMEs for those not participating in the Certificate program. There is no continuing education credit available for individual modules. Click here for complete information on continuing education offerings.
Faculty
Jennifer Moore Ballentine, MA, CEO Coalition for Compassionate Care of California
POLST 101
Overview of POLST history, process, and form requirements and utilization for all sectors and disciplines.
Objectives:
- Explain the purpose of POLST and its intended uses
- List the steps in the POLST process
- Distinguish the proper use of POLST by discipline and setting
POLST Eligibility/Appropriateness
Why use POLST and with whom (including minors); when NOT to use POLST and what to use instead to document code status.
Case study by Karl Steinberg, MD, CMD, HMDC, HEC-C, Medical Director, Hospice by the Sea
Objectives:
- Evaluate whether POLST is appropriate for a given patient
- List standard criteria for the use of POLST
- Identify alternatives to POLST for documentation of code status
POLST Form
What makes a POLST valid; section-by-section content; who can complete/how to complete; signatures/signers; managing the form; reviewing and revising.
Case study by Vincent D. Nguyen, DO, CMD, Hoag Hospital
Objectives:
- Identify elements of the POLST form that are required for it to be valid
- Complete a POLST form so that it meets legal and clinical requirements
- Demonstrate proper management of the POLST form, including indications for revision
POLST and Other Advance Medical Directives
Relationship between POLST, prehospital DNR, AHCD; what does each do/not do; when to use which form; which form takes precedence when; rules around honoring the directives.
Case study by John Tastad, MA, Coordinator, Advance Care Planning program, Sharp HealthCare
Objectives:
- Differentiate among POLST, prehospital DNR, advance healthcare directive according to their respective purposes and best uses
- Diagram precedence of each form in relation to the others
- Comply with rules and responsibilities with respect to honoring POLST choices
POLST and Legally Recognized Decision Makers/Surrogates
Who qualifies as a legally recognized decision maker for POLST; limits of their authority; when they can sign POLST; when they can revise or override POLST.
Case study by Sarah Hooper, JD, Executive Director, UCSF/UC Law SF Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy
Objectives:
- Determine which persons qualify as legally recognized decision makers for POLST
- Express the statutory and ethical responsibilities of surrogate decision makers
- Evaluate whether a surrogate’s actions with respect to POLST are within the authority of a legally recognized decision maker
POLST for Incapacitated/Unrepresented Patients
Determining incapacity; seeking a surrogate; requesting a PPR for a SNF resident; convening an IDT for a SNF resident; signatures for a SNF resident; incapacitated/unrepresented patients in the hospital.
Case study by Yarin Ascencio, MSW, Office of the Long-Term Care Patient Representative
Objectives:
- Utilize appropriate clinical and legal standards for assessing decisional capacity
- Exercise accepted practices and alternatives to legally recognized decision makers for unrepresented, incapacitated patients
POLST for Minors
How/when to use POLST for pediatric (infants, children, and teens) patients.
Case study by Christy Torkildson, PhD, RN, PHN, FPCN, HEC-C, Associate Professor, Grand Canyon University/Director, Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition of California
Objectives:
- State the criteria for appropriate use of POLST with a minor
- Explain the purpose and use of POLST to the parents/guardians of a seriously ill minor patient
POLST and Cultural/Religious Sensitivity
Communicating with non-English speaking patients; interpreter vs. family member; using POLST translations; treatment choices in cultural/religious contexts.
Case study by Sandy Chen Stokes, RN, PHN, MSN, Executive Director, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care
Objectives:
- Identify three challenges to using POLST with non-English-speaking patients
- Evaluate the relative benefits/risks of using family vs. professional interpreters
- Recognize cultural or religious factors that might influence treatment choices for POLST
Click here to register for the full Online Topics Modules series.