Innovative Models for Developing Post-Masters Curriculum in End-of-Life Care

Abstract

Given two million deaths annually in the U. S., social work education and training have been cited as woefully inadequate in end-of-life care. In response, two of the authors developed two post-Masters programs in end-of-life care for social work. This paper describes their curricula and the methods used to evaluate both programs, including measurements of the participants' self-efficacy before and after the programs. The analysis of evaluative data from the classroom and first-year field experiences of each program shows that participants increased their levels of skill, knowledge, values, and self-efficacy.

Key Words:

• End-of-life care
• social work curriculum
• post-masters certificate training
• curriculum on end-of-life care
• leadership in end-of-life care