Pennsylvania Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment

POLST Train-the Trainer Program

Introductionto the Online Prerequisite Course

Welcome to the Pennsylvania POLST Education Program.

This online course is Part One of an educational program designed to assure participants have an understanding of the value and concepts of advance care planning and the role of advance directives and the POLST. This section is the necessary foundation for the in-person course that focuses on the POLST Conversation. The successful completion of Part One will prepare professionals to develop their communication skills and initiate advance care planning discussions that help individuals establish medical and non-medical goals of care and to train others to do so.

Part One program components include:

  1. POLST In Action in Pennsylvania Video
  2. An overview of the Pennsylvania POLST program with a description of the various sections of the form.
  1. Pennsylvania’s Advance Care Directive Law – Act 169, A Summary
  2. Act 169 provides a comprehensive statutory framework governing advance health care directives and health care decision-making for incompetent patients.
  1. An Overview, Advance Directive and POLST. This tool:
  2. Describes rationale for and use of each advance care planning document
  3. Demonstrates differences between Advance Directives and POLST
  4. Defines who can be a Pennsylvania Health Care Decision-Maker
  5. Discusses considerations when choosing CPR/DNR
  1. Advance Directives, Advance Care Planning and POLST in Practice
  2. This webinar provides the learner with information directly from an experienced physician and discusses the problem that can occur when no process is in place to convey a patient’s choices.
  1. POLST – Guidance for Health Care Professionals
  2. A resource for anyone who will complete a POLST Form. All sections are discussed in detail.
  1. POLST Conversation Video
  2. This video is a demonstration of the POLST conversation between a CRNP and a patient to determine his end-of-life treatment choices and recording on the POLSTform.
  1. Frequently Asked Questions

In addition to the required course components, you are encouraged to view the supplementary material.

A significant tool is the Quick Start Guide to Health Care Decision-Making which outlines the powers of competent patients, health care agents, health care representatives and guardians. Information in this document can be helpful when speaking to someone who is making treatment choices on behalf of patient. It is critical that the discussion occurs with the appropriate medical decision-maker.

Also among the documents are advance directive examples. You may find these examples useful in the course and in your work with patients and families. You may also want to consider them for your own use.

Thank you very much for your interest and participation in the online portion of the POLST Train-the Trainer Program. We look forward to sharing the in-person course with you soon.

The Pennsylvania POLST Consortium

12/6/13