Education
Interprofessional education is key to the provision of quality care. Multidimensional sources of distress are best addressed through an interprofessional team approach, yet the majority of healthcare providers lack preparation to maximize collaborative practice, minimizing performance and lowering morale.
Shirley is a passionate interprofessional educator committed to the transformation of healthcare. She has been faculty for leading universities and has developed innovative courses that receive outstanding evaluations. She is an inspiring presenter who has delivered keynote addresses in Australia, Hong Kong, Scotland, Canada and throughout the United States. Shirley specializes in the integration of palliative care principles into primary practice. Her focus is on creating meaningful behavior change to engage learners in skill assimilation. She believes that educational efforts must provide clinicians the tools to improve the delivery of care for those they serve.
Past Partnerships
Co-Project Lead and Curriculum Content Consultant:
Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC), United States Pain Relief Committee and the New York Community Trust-Funded Project, Myra Glajchen, DSW: Principal Investigator, Metropolitan Jewish Health System, Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care
Affiliate Associate Professor: Curriculum Developer/Faculty:
Communication and Health Care Decision Making Interprofessional Online Master of Science in Palliative care and Graduate Certificates in Palliative Care Program, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science. University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore, MD
Curriculum Developer/Faculty:
Curriculum Developer/Faculty: Advance Care Planning; Palliative and End-of-Life Care; Spirituality and Oncology Social Work Practice. Advance Certificate in Oncology Social Work, School of Social Policy and Practice. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Adjunct Faculty/Lecturer:
Psychosocial Practice in Oncology I: Interpersonal Practice: Psychosocial Oncology Specialization Program, Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work. University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.
How Education Empowers Us
To most effectively engage in these roles, we need social workers who are passionate life-long learners. We need to skillfully assist patients as they navigate the disjointed medical environment. We need to identify a range of community referrals and resources to meet our diverse patient needs. And we need to be reflective practitioners who regularly identify gaps in our clinical repertoire and continually seek to expand our expertise.
If we are to provide excellence in care delivery, education, research, and program and policy development, we need to identify mentors who can guide our skill-acquisition and seek sources of additional learning. Social workers are called to live their professional values and become leaders and advocates for the vulnerable populations that we serve (Otis-Green, 2019).
There are textbooks (Altilio & Otis-Green, 2011; Sumser, Leimena & Altilio, 2019) and articles (Sumser, et.al, 2015; Glajchen, et.al, 2018) that can help further our expertise, and I’ve found that professional memberships in groups like SWHPN, AOSW, NHPCO, and others allow me to meet and learn from others who share my passion for the field and who support and inspire my growth.
Programs like the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care’s Post-MSW Palliative Care Social Work Certificate program offer a deeper dive into the wonders of palliative social work. Our field is rapidly expanding and we now have the opportunity for specialty certification (for example: Advanced Palliative Hospice Social Worker Certification) that recognizes our expertise.