This SAP will consolidate learning, drawing on previous knowledge and skills to develop confidence and competence in managing holistic support of people during the process of loss, death and dying. The content of this module is such that students will be able to be more confident and competent in working with people who are experiencing a loss or have been bereaved. The support of those experiencing loss, including the ones suffering from traumatic losses (suicide, homicide, overdose...) and bereavement is a fundamental principle to deal with suffering and existential issues. Students will be encouraged to routinely reflect on the work undertaken throughout the module and to apply this into practice to enhance compassion and competence when working with bereaved people who are experiencing a loss.

Within a range of care environments, including hospitals, nursing homes and community settings, professionals from all working areas are involved in response to suffering across the life span. With the development of centred-care initiatives, the need to provide the right level of care at the right time and in the right place has been emphasised as of paramount importance to all concerned.

Guest speakers from different disciplinary areas will be integrated into this SAP, focusing on an interprofessional learning curriculum, and all the activities will be supervised by the lecturer responsible for the course.

At the end of the course, students from a variety of professional backgrounds should have enhanced grief and bereavement literacy which will allow them to be in a better position to support those who are affected by multiple forms of loss. These competencies will allow students to develop compassionate communities in collaboration with local citizens, aligned with the 2020-30 agenda for the sustainable development.

Blended

Polytechnic of Leiria, (IPLeiria), Portugal and Technological University of the Shannon (TUS University) Ireland

During the SAP the students will:

Acknowledge the ethical, social, systemic and cultural issues that can affect attitudes concerning loss, death and grief in a post-pandemic world.

Demonstrate a critical understanding of external social, cultural, ecological influences which have a direct effect on bereavement care, and the strategies employed to facilitate the delivery of quality care services.

Critically evaluate a variety of physical, psychological, spiritual, cultural and social factors which impact people’s experience of and responses to loss, grief and bereavement processes.

Develop specific competencies and skills, including interpersonal, reflective, digital and soft skills required in loss, grief and bereavement processes.