The Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care

March 20-23, 2024 | Phoenix, Arizona

AnnualAssemblyHAPC.org

The Annual Assembly, presented by the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), brings together more than 3,400 of your colleagues and peers to share research, clinical best practices, and practice-related guidance to advance the specialty and improve patient care. We encourage you to use the hashtag, #hapc24, when posting about the Annual Assembly on social media.

The 2024 Annual Assembly will be presented as a modified hybrid event with combined live streaming and in-person experiences, and on-demand access of recorded content through July 1, 2024. 

Why You Should Attend

• Enhance the delivery of hospice and palliative care: Provide your patients and caregivers with the latest evidence-based practices. Learn from cutting-edge scientific research and positively impact your team to provide optimal care. The Assembly experience is designed to engage the mind, body, and spirit of our attendees. 
• Make connections with colleagues: Connect with hospice and palliative care professionals who face similar challenges. Feel the support and rejuvenation from the hospice and palliative care community while sharing best practices, asking burning questions, and building relationships.
• Join the best party in hospice and palliative care!: Mark your calendars for March 20-23, 2024. Virtually or in Phoenix, AZ, you don't want to miss all that Annual Assembly 2024 has to offer.
• Connect with HPCC certificants: Join HPCC for the Certification Luncheon sponsored by PSI. Celebrate hospice and palliative certification for nurses and social workers with fellow HPCC certificants and those who are interested in pursuing certification.

Registration Types and Rates

• Nurse Member - $710 ($890 after January 31, 2024)
  Nurses who are members of AAHPM and HPNA.

• Nurse Nonmember - $995 ($1,244 after January 31, 2024)
  Nurses who are not members of AAHPM or HPNA.

• Interprofessional Member - $710 ($890 after January 31, 2024)
  Non-physician and non-nurse healthcare professionals who are members of AAHPM, HPNA, SPPCP or SWHPN (e.g. researchers, chaplains, social workers, pharmacists, physician assistants, child life specialists, etc.)

• Interprofessional Nonmember - $995 ($1,244 after January 31, 2024)
  Non-physician and non-nurse healthcare professionals who are not members of AAHPM, HPNA, SPPCP or SWHPN (e.g. researchers, chaplains, social workers, pharmacists, physician assistants, child life specialists, etc.)

• HPNA Nursing Student Member - $305 ($385 after January 31, 2024)
  Full-time nursing students who are members of HPNA.

• Resident and Student Nonmember - $425 ($535 after January 31, 2024)
  Full-time residents or students who are not a member of AAHPM or HPNA; documentation must be provided by the current fellowship program director or dean of the program.

• Guest Pass - $85
  Guest pass is available when accompanied by a full registration. Pass includes entrance to the exhibit hall, reception, and morning breaks.

HPNA Sponsored Pre-Conference Sessions on Wednesday, March 20, 2024

ACHPN Certification Review Course - $450 
This instructor-led certification review course is designed to help prepare you for your upcoming Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) ACHPN certification exam.

HPNA Certification Review Courses provide a framework to prepare, and a process to assess strengths and weaknesses of content prior to sitting for an HPCC certification exam. These courses are facilitated by nationally recognized subject matter experts.

Lessons in Leadership Using the Art of Poker - $250
Back by popular demand. This interactive session will provide guidance for developing both leadership and poker skills.  The first portion of the session will involve the use of didactic presentations, polls, group discussions to provide education on leadership, reading people, both at the poker table and in your work setting, using poker skills to mentor and lead your teams, and knowing which hands and initiatives to go all in on and which ones to fold.   The last portion of the session will include actual poker instruction geared toward the novice poker player.  (Note: This is not a cash game and is for instructional purposes only.)

Psychedelic Assisted Therapies in Palliative and Hospice Care Are Here: Let’s Discuss! - $100
Explore the transformative use of psychedelic assisted therapies in the realm of palliative care and hospice during this enlightening and engaging 90-minute pre-conference session while you enjoy lunch. Attendees will benefit from a short presentation focused on the history of psychedelic therapies, legal issues, and recent research. This presentation will be followed by a robust interactive discussion in a safe space where all questions and concerns will be addressed. Join us to navigate the considerations, clinical applications, and promising integration of these therapies within the holistic framework of palliative and hospice care. Lunch is included.

Advanced Opioid Pharmacotherapy: Investigating all the Nooks and Crannies! - $250
This fast-paced session is not for the faint of heart! This seminar delivers a solid half-day of opioid pharmacotherapy covers three primary themes. The first is results from an international consensus building process on best practices in opioid conversion calculations, and dosing of “unique” opioids (such as levorphanol, and strategies for dosing methadone and buprenorphine). This segment will also include a discussion on advanced in managing opioid adverse effects and drug interactions. The second section addresses the complex situation of opioid selection during an era of opioid misuse and abuse, and specific selection of an opioid for a patient with a past or current history of misuse of controlled or illicit substances. The final act of the afternoon will be the appropriate selection and use of co-analgesics along with opioid therapy including duloxetine gabapentinoids, ketamine and cannabis. There’s no WAY anyone practicing in hospice or palliative care should miss this seminar! Buckle your seatbelts – this is going to be a FAST ride!!

Tackling Tough Conversations - $250
Part 1: How to Deal With Family Requests For Treatment You Think Are Unreasonable

Dealing with families who request treatments that the medical team think is unreasonable often leads to moral distress, and ruptured relationships. The goal of this talk is to give clinicians both a mental model and the communication skills needed to handle these difficult conversations.

Part 2: Words Matter: How Words and Phrases Shape Thoughts and Actions (and sometimes make us cringe!)

This preconference builds upon the session Words Matter: Words and Phrases That Make Us Cringe, presented at the Annual Assembly in 2023. Using the theories of psychological schema and linguistic relativism as springboards for discussion, we will discuss how preconceived ideas, often unconscious, can impact our use – and misuse – of language and determine what we pay attention to and act on. This can result in unintended and harmful assumptions and actions about, for example, symptom management, family relationships, goals of care, and prognosis. Literacy level, culture and native language, and written language will also be explored. Careful and mindful use of language is especially important in hospice and palliative care as we often only have one chance to “get it right.”

Thank you to the 2024 HPNA Membership Meeting Sponsor: