Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27, 2025
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET
ELNEC Train-the-Trainer courses provide nurses with education in hospice and palliative nursing, preparing them to serve as instructors teaching this critical information to other nurses in the specialty.
ELNEC stands for End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium and is an education initiative created by the City of Hope and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. ELNEC courses are written for nurses by nurses.
Course Content
Communication principles are integrated across all eight National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care (NCP Guidelines) domains and include:
- Palliative Nursing Care at the End-of-Life
- Pain & Symptom Management
- Social & Psychological Aspects of Care
- Cultural Considerations and Ethical Issues
- Spiritual, Religious & Existential Care
- Final Hours
- Loss, Grief, and Bereavement
- Leadership and Self Care
ELNEC Communication specifically targets the development and refinement of communication skills crucial for delivering high-quality hospice & palliative care. This course focuses on practical application of communication skills & drills, empowering learners to enhance patient and family interactions while managing pain, symptoms, and care plans across each of the 8 NCP domains.
Registration
Early Bird (Through April 30, 2025)
$575
Regular (April 30 through June 23)
$625
Group Rate
For group registration rate information, please contact [email protected].
The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) offers scholarships annually for HPNA members to attend an HPNA-sponsored ELNEC course. Learn more and apply here.
Continuing Education
Successful
activity completion awards the learner 13.75 NCPD accredited education contact
hours. Successful completion requires
participants to remain engaged throughout the Zoom platform (e.g., cameras on,
engaged in breakout sessions, etc.) and completing/submitting the post-activity
evaluation within the timeframe specified.
No
one with the ability to control the content of this activity has a relevant
financial relationship to disclose with an ineligible company.
Hospice
and Palliative Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing
continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing
Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Interested in Learning More About the Event?
Hear from presenter Sharon Bigger, PhD, MA, RN, CHPN®, CNE below.
Facilitators
Sharon Bigger, PhD, MA, RN, CHPN®, CNE
Dr. Bigger’s research focuses on communication about goals of care with diverse populations with chronic illnesses. She received her PhD in nursing from East Tennessee State University. Clinically, she has worked in neurosciences, home health, and hospice settings for 23 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in Spanish, a second bachelor’s degree in nursing, and a master’s degree in philosophy and religion with a concentration in global women’s studies. As a former healthcare interpreter, Dr. Bigger is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Through ELNEC-International, she teaches palliative care communication skills and provides consultative services to those promoting palliative care education among health professionals and lay caregivers alike. Her most recent international work was in Mexico.
Using a health equity lens specific to language justice, Dr. Bigger remains focused on researching communication interventions to optimize quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Her post-doctoral work is supported by the Dick and Timmy Burton Post-doctoral Fellowship. She resides in Asheville, North Carolina. In her free time, Dr. Bigger enjoys singing, songwriting, and dance.
Kristine Dukart-Harrington, DNP, RN, AGNP-C, ACHPN®
Kristine is an adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner who specializes in palliative care for adults undergoing treatment for cancer. Her passion is enhancing the quality of life for her patients and their loved ones. Kristine has been a nurse since 2009 and a nurse practitioner since 2015, with experience in oncology, community health, and hospice and palliative care. She is currently a palliative care specialist at Providence Cancer Institute in Portland, Oregon, where she has worked since 2018. Her other professional passion is teaching; she served on faculty at University of Portland School of Nursing & Health Innovations from 2019 to 2023 and was graduate program director and chair of the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner track. She will be returning to nursing education as a professor at Linfield University in 2025.
In her free time, Kristine can be found spending time with her family, including wife Laurie, daughters Kaia and Kinley, and their dog, Lorelai. She loves to play outside when the sun is shining, dance, and cook, and she is a voracious reader.
About the Event
This is a virtual event. The last day to register for this course is June 23, 2025. Registered learners will receive course access information & materials to their HPNA associated email address 3-5 days before course opening.
Cancellation Policy
Registrations that are cancelled in writing up to three weeks prior to the event will be refunded minus a $100 administrative fee. Cancellations received less than 1 week prior to the event will not be refunded. Please contact the HPNA Education Department about cancellations. Cancellations requests must be received in writing.