Learning Institute Program
2026 sessions for the 2026-2027 Learning Institute are now available and listed by month below or download a PDF of the 2026 Program. 2027 sessions will be available shortly.
June
Please note: Each session requires a separate registration form. If you plan to attend both sessions, you must complete both registration forms.
September
Please note: Each session requires a separate registration form. If you plan to multiple sessions, you must complete a registration form for each.
September 9, 12:30pm – 4:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Jennifer McCrae, CT
This session focuses on caregiver wellness and bereavement, exploring the unique challenges, grief, and stress that caregivers experience before, during, and after caregiving.
September 16, 11:30am to 3:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Dr. Annette Meares, DNP, RN, HEC-C
This session will explore how thoughtful electronic medical record (EMR) design can help clinicians capture ACP discussions more accurately, efficiently, and meaningfully.
September 23, from 12:00pm – 3:30pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Grace Tallman, BScN
This session offers a compassionate, practical exploration of grief support after MAiD, grounded in the presenter’s experience as a palliative nurse and certified grief counsellor.
September 28th, 11:30am – 3:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Ms. Diana Nabunje, Bachelors, and Mr. Ivan Rukundo, Bachelors
This session explores practical strategies for implementing digital tools to support symptom monitoring, care coordination, and clinical decision-making in palliative care.
October
Please note: Each session requires a separate registration form. If you plan to multiple sessions, you must complete a registration form for each.
October 6, 11:30am-3:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Professor Phelim Boyle
This session looks at the Substitute Decision Maker framework and how fails those who need it most including Indigenous Peoples, People with Disabilities, People Experiencing Homelessness, LGBTQ+ Persons, and Incarcerated Persons.
October 13th, from 1:00pm – 4:30pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Dr. Kelvin Lou, M.D.
This session focuses on improving how clinicians provide palliative care for patients and families from Chinese cultural backgrounds, particularly during high-stakes conversations around prognosis and goals of care.
October 21st, 2026, from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Laura Jin, MSc, CCLS
How do we talk to children about death? What do they actually understand, and what support do they need? In other words, why is it important for us to consider the needs of children when a parent, grandparent, or other significant person is dying? This session invites participants to explore these questions.
October 28th, from 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Kevin Andrew Heslop
This session explores the necessity of a “dialogic” approach to bioethics—one that moves beyond administrative checklists to engage with the profound moral, social, and spiritual tensions inherent in end-of-life care.
November
Please note: Each session requires a separate registration form. If you plan to multiple sessions, you must complete a registration form for each.
November 4th from 11:30am -3:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Ms. Arrowlena Big Smoke, BN, RN and Professor Jessica Simon, MB ChB
This session looks at ways to address the care inequities faced by Indigenous patients through Indigenous Cancer Patient Multidisciplinary Rounds (ICPMR), a model launched in Alberta in 2020 that brings together Indigenous Elders and Indigenous and non-Indigenous healthcare providers to support Indigenous patients facing complex barriers to cancer and palliative care.
November 12, 11:30am to 3:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Brian Tramontini
This session explores how meaningful metrics can better reflect the realities and impact of palliative care. Participants will explore the limitations of standard healthcare measures and discuss how stories and experiences from palliative care can be translated into evidence that informs decisions within organizations, communities, and healthcare systems across Canada.
November 19 from 12:00pm – 3:30pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Dr. Sarah Lord, MD, MSc, FRCPC, LaToya Hillson, MSc, CCLS, and Rebecca Williams, MN
Paediatric palliative care in community settings presents unique clinical, emotional, and logistical challenges for interdisciplinary providers who may have limited exposure to paediatric populations yet are increasingly called upon to deliver this care. This session will focus on approaches that can be readily integrated into everyday practice across community settings.
November 25th 12:30pm – 4:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Joy Wirta
This session explores how proactive planning and access to critical information can reduce stress and improve experiences for individuals and families during emergencies, serious illness, and end-of-life situations.
December
Please note: Each session requires a separate registration form. If you plan to multiple sessions, you must complete a registration form for each.
December 1st from 11:00am – 2:30pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Dr. Chaka Brittain, DNP AGPCNP-BC
End-of-life care often involves difficult conversations when patients or families express hope for a “miracle” or request that “everything be done,” even in the context of serious illness. These situations are frequently interpreted as denial, which can lead to frustration, miscommunication, and care that is not aligned with the patient’s values. This session focuses on helping interdisciplinary teams better understand and respond to these conversations.
December 3rd, 11:30am – 3:00pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Susan Doucette, CHPCN(C) and Mallory Peters, BScN RN CHPCN(C)
This 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.
December 10th from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm (Eastern)
Facilitated by: Emma Payne, MSc and Kathryn Wozny, MSW, RSW
This session examines the current bereavement landscape in Canadian hospices and how a public health model for bereavement care offers a framework for reaching more people more equitably.
