By Judith Schwartzstein, Director of Public Affairs, Sarah Lawrence College

Nov. 4, 2015:  For those interested in better comprehending the myriad of issues related to end-of-life care and communicating them accordingly, Sarah Lawrence College is offering a half-day workshop titled "Narrating the End of Life: Narrative Practice, Historical Context and Critical Skills to Improve End-of-Life Care." The workshop will take place from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Saturday, November 7, at Sarah Lawrence College. To register or to learn more about this and other programs, please visit https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/ce/cce/end-of-life-care.html. 

This cross-disciplinary educational seminar will enhance the participants' ability to engage in quality-of-life conversations with patients experiencing advanced illness. It draws on expertise in narrative medicine, history of medicine, and the tools of self-care of long-term caregivers to engage participants, whether health professionals, family caregivers, or those living with advanced illness, in an exploration of their personal and professional experiences of end-of-life care. 

Those caring for patients and loved ones at the end of life, be they clinicians, health care professionals, family members, or friends, seldom have the opportunity to investigate the conceptual, historical, and personal content of this care. This workshop will utilize the concepts and techniques of narrative medicine to enable participants to place their experiences in the larger social and political contexts of the current movement to improve end-of-life care.

Participants will acquire an historical perspective of death and dying in the United States, learn conceptual frameworks from areas including narrative medicine, disabilities rights organizing, and exploration of self-care skills for caregivers 

The workshop will be presented by Sayantani DasGupta, MD, MPH, a widely published author, an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics, and a core faculty member of the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University.

The other presenters are Rebecca O. Johnson, MSCED, MFA, associate program director of graduate and professional studies for the End-of-Life Care Program, and Elizabeth Bailey, MA health advocacy 2014, author of the The Patient's Checklist: 10 Simple Hospital Checklists to Keep You Sane, Safe & Organized. 

The four-hour workshop will include an exploration of caregiving and end-of-life experiences through literary analysis, writing exercises, film, and discussion, culminating in participants' identifying their own needs and strategies for engaging with advanced chronic illness as patients, caregivers, and health practitioners.

The fee for the workshop is $250 for the general public and $200 for Sarah Lawrence College alumni.

Pictured here:  An entrance to Sarah Lawrence College.

Photo by N. Bower