Posted on: August 25, 2023
Expressed, Heard and Respected: How does the term “Advance Care Planning" (ACP) resonate for you, personally and/or professionally? What does it evoke? For many people, Advance Care Planning can be a daunting space to enter, whether that be with patients and their support people, or in their own lives. There can be many reasons for this.
Engaging in Advance Care Planning conversations can be a rewarding and meaningful experience, both for community members and for health care professionals. It can be a powerful tool to ensure that people's values, wishes and preferences about their current and/or future healthcare are Expressed, Heard, and Respected. Providing opportunity and inviting these conversations to take place (“Expressed"), understanding and documenting them in a patient's health record (“Heard"), and translating them into care plans that are congruent with their Advance Care Plan (“Respected"), are vital pieces in this process.
As health care professionals, getting to know the person in front of us—their personal values, cultural beliefs, past experiences, and more—is an incredibly important aspect of care. Please watch this short video from the First Nations Health Authority on their Advance Care Planning webpage that illustrates the importance of ACP.
For more information about opportunities for education, or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out: AdvanceCarePlanning@islandhealth.ca.