Ladies & Gentleman, presenting Crossroads University!
Like most ideas or concepts,Crossroads University started very small. “Wouldn’t it be great to have all of our educational pieces (in-services, whitepapers, etc.) in one place on the internet?” This one small question has now become a place where physicians, nurses, administrators, and others cannot only learn, but can earn Continuing Education (CE) credits about hospice-related topics and virtually anything that interests them.
The potential for this “University” was quickly recognized by the Board of Directors of theCrossroads Hospice Charitable Foundation as a wonderful way to further their mission of educating the public about Death and Dying, Palliative Medicine, and Hospice. Through their sponsorship, Crossroads University now can benefit their “students” in a number of ways.
Starting at the simplest of offers from the University, Administrators, Directors of Nursing, and Human Resources personnel can plan their required educational in-services from the library of topics contained inside the University. Topic explanations and presentations are available to them at a click of a button.
Other opportunities for education also exist in the library in the form of Whitepapers and Tips & Guides. These offer support to all healthcare professionals in their quest to gain insight into topics ranging from legal issues to end-of-life medical procedures and processes.
While these were wonderful developments for education, it was the partnering with Allegra Learning that has given Crossroads University its greatest opportunities for meeting its mission. Through this partnership, Crossroads University will be offering online courses and live events for actual CE’s. In 2013 alone there will be three online opportunities and three live events! Even if you can’t attend these events, they will be a part of the library that people can still access for their CE’s. Looking for a different or specific topic? By clicking through Crossroads University you can have access to all of the CE’s offered by Allegra!
More exciting news comes from Crossroads Hospice partnership with Park University for theCenter for Loss, Grief, and Healing. This partnership means that the “students” of Crossroads will soon have access to the most innovative and cutting-edge topics in Palliative Medicine and Hospice. It also is foreseeable that in the future, some of those CE’s could be translated into actual hours from Park University!
While actual graduation from Crossroads University, complete with a green cap and gown, may not ever come to pass, we believe in reaching out to those who care for patients, and supporting them in their quest to become the best. This is not only the mission of the Crossroads Hospice Charitable Foundation, but the ultimate goal for any University.
Our first CE course is on caregiving and can be taken here: http://www.crossroadsu.org/ce-courses/. The goal of this course is to review family and caregiver issues, explain patient rights and the ethical principles of caregiving, examine behavioral, nutritional, and safety issues of caregiving, and explore integrative health methods of supporting caregiver well-being.
Perry Farmer
President
Crossroads Hospice
