If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Dalai Lama
Dementia Reconsidered is a unique approach to teaching interdisciplinary, person directed support for, and care of, persons living with dementia. Dementia Reconsidered sessions are designed individually and we encourage you to attend any or all depending upon your interest.
Recordings:
Sessions 1 and 2 introduce attendees to core concepts and to approaches for addressing unique conditions brought on by the pandemic; both include an open Q&A with Dr. Wehry via Zoom. Session 1 is available through the training site (see below).
In Session 3, Compassion, Not Control, Dr. Wehry makes the case for a client-centered approach to shared and supported decision making that optimizes the client’s (and family’s) abilities and improves quality of life outcomes for persons living with disabilities, including dementia. Go to AgingME Trainings to see the recording.
Session 4, Using Medications Wisely, features Sydney Springer PharmD, MS, BCPS, BCGP. Drs Wehry and Springer review current pharmacologic approaches to the care of persons with dementia, with a special focus on the use and misuse of antipsychotic medications. The session includes a review of successful non-pharmacologic approaches to distress-signal behaviors and a discussion of why reducing antipsychotic prescribing to people with dementia remains so important. Go to AgingME Trainings to see the recording.
Session 5, Advance Care Planning for People Living With Dementia, featured discussions with Palliative Care and Dementia Specialist Ann Wyatt as well as Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) members Janice Bays, Barney Nelson, and Jacquelyn Pogue. The session concluded with a panel on Palliative Care in Long Term Care followed by a Q & A.
In Session 6, Dr. Susan Wehry discussed the art and science of compassion, addressed the question “is compassion innate?”, and explained why she (and others) think the term “compassion fatigue” is a misnomer. Importantly, she offered some pragmatic suggestions for creating the conditions in your life —and in your facility—that allow compassion to emerge and a sense of well-being to flourish. She was joined by individuals with lived experience as “givers” and “receivers” of compassionate care.
Click here to access the Dementia Reconsidered Training Site