Group Viewing – From Caregiver to Patient: Hospice Nurse Allyson’s Final 39 Days
$250.00
Program Release Date: January 2026
As hospice nurse Allyson navigated her final 39 days with brain cancer, her last wish was to transform her dying experience into a teaching tool that would spark meaningful conversations about death and dying. Participants will watch the award-winning short film A Butterfly Has Been Released, which follows Allyson’s journey as she connects with family, friends, and hospice colleagues, hosts a living funeral, and chooses a natural green burial.
Following the film, Kenneth Doka, Natasha Fowlks, and Megan Heller, will discuss how it illustrates issues such as the goals of end-of-life care in hospice and palliative care, as well as how the hospice interdisciplinary team can support patients and families by facilitating meaning making and ritual and how those processes can support grievers.
Registration provides group viewing at one organization/company location OR one in-person community group viewing event.
Continuing Education (1 hour) for up to 25 viewers included with registration. If you would like to provide CEs to more than 25 attendees, contact HFA at [email protected].
Learning Objectives
- Explain how the hospice interdisciplinary team, including volunteer services, support end-of-life care by facilitating meaning making, storytelling, and legacy building.
- Describe the goals of care in hospice, including symptom management, the ethical balance of risks vs. benefits, and the importance of patient autonomy and dignity.
- Describe the benefits of reminiscence, continuing bonds, and ritual for patients, family, and intimate networks; and the individualized nature of grief.
