Speaking with Compassion Conversation Guide for Last Days and Hours

This CHPCA Learning Institute session introduces the “Speaking with Compassion: A Conversation Guide for the Last Days and Hours”, a practical tool designed to support health‑care staff in providing compassionate, clear, and confident communication with patients who are nearing end of life and with the families who care for them.

The guide includes three main sections:

1. How to have meaningful, compassionate conversations with people who are dying and their families.
2. What to expect as a person approaches death, including common physical changes and both pharmaceutical and non‑pharmaceutical options to support comfort.
3. Information for caregivers, including what they may see, what they might say, and how they can care for themselves during this time.

This session will focus primarily on the first section—the conversation piece. Participants will explore how to approach difficult discussions with sensitivity, clarity, and confidence. Through practical examples and supportive guidance, the session will help staff feel more comfortable initiating and navigating these essential conversations. It is intended for home care staff, nursing staff, and anyone involved in providing care or support to patients and families in the last days and hours of life.

By attending, participants can expect to:

• Increase their comfort and confidence in having end‑of‑life conversations.
• Learn supportive language that promotes clarity, compassion, and trust.
• Better understand how to respond to common questions, concerns, and emotions from patients and families.
• Strengthen their ability to provide person‑ and family‑centered care during one of the most challenging times in the care journey.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

• Identify at least three communication strategies that support compassionate, clear, and patient‑centred conversations during the last days and hours of life.
• Demonstrate how to initiate an end‑of‑life conversation using supportive language that aligns with the Speaking with Compassion guide.
• Apply the conversation guide to a practice scenario, showing increased comfort and confidence when discussing end‑of‑life changes with patients and families.

Speaking with Compassion Conversation Guide for Last Days and Hours
Thursday, December 3rd, 11:30am – 3:00pm (Eastern)

Susan Doucette, CHPCN(C)

Susan Doucette is a registered nurse with over 33 years’ experience, including the past 14 years dedicated solely to palliative care where she has truly found her niche. She is certified through the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) in Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Nursing and is deeply committed to a person-centered approach that honors values, goals and experiences of individuals and their caregivers.

After many years of direct clinical practice, Susan transition into a Program Development Coordinator role, where she is able to broader her impact through education, program development, and mentorship.

She is a LEAP Facilitator, Last Aid Facilitator and a Waiting Room Revolution Ambassador, and is passionate about building compassionate communities through meaningful education and conversations.

Mallory Peters, BScN RN CHPCN(C)

Mallory Peters, BScN, RN, CHPCN(C) is a Registered Nurse with Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Certification. She graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Francis Xavier University and has since developed a broad foundation of clinical experience across multiple healthcare settings before focusing her practice in palliative care over the past several years.

Mallory currently serves as a Palliative Care Coordinator with Health PEI, where she provides expert pain and symptom management, as well as end-of-life care, to clients and their families and caregivers in rural communities across Prince Edward Island. She is a key member of the Integrated Palliative Care Program, a specialized interdisciplinary team within Provincial Home-Based Care, dedicated to delivering comprehensive, community-based support.

In addition to her clinical work, Mallory contributes to palliative care education across Prince Edward Island and is a certified Last Aid Facilitator. She is committed to advancing compassionate, person-centered care that enables individuals to live as fully and comfortably as possible throughout their illness trajectory and at the end of life.