Cultural Competence in Hospice Nursing
Course Overview
In hospice, small cultural missteps can become big barriers to trust, comfort, and dignified end-of-life care. This 60-minute episode explores practical, team-based strategies for providing culturally responsive hospice care—such as recognizing patient cues, asking the right questions about beliefs and decision-making, customizing care plans, and ensuring language access and rituals align with symptom management. We’ll review real-world cases, communication scripts, and system-level actions that help teams appreciate diversity, self-assess, adapt, and embed cultural understanding into daily practice.
Listen, Learn, and Earn CE Hours with this podcast course. Available on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast apps.
Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:
- Recognize cultural competence in hospice and why it improves trust, safety, and outcomes.
- Identify patient-centered questions that surface key beliefs, family roles, and dietary/spiritual needs.
- Assess hospice care plans to align with beliefs, rituals, and decision-making preferences without compromising clinical standards.
About the Author/Presenter
Dr. Candace Pierce, DNP, RN, CNE, COI is a nurse leader committed to ensuring nurses are well prepared and offered abundant opportunities and resources to enhance their skills acquisition and confidence at the bedside. With 15 years in nursing, she has worked at the bedside, in management, and in nursing education. She has demonstrated expertise and scholarship in innovation and design thinking in healthcare and education, and collaborative efforts within and outside of healthcare. Scholarship endeavors include funded grants, publications, and presentations. As a leader, Dr. PIERCE: strives to empower others to create and deploy ideas and embrace their professional roles as leaders, change agents, and problem solvers. In her position as the Sr. Course Development Manager for Elite, she works as a project engineer with subject matter experts to develop evidence-based best practices in continuing education for nurses and other healthcare professionals.
Melissa Dorris, MSN, RN, CHPN is a compassionate and dedicated hospice care leader with over 25 years of experience in hospice and palliative care. A Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN) for the past 8 years, she brings a deep understanding of both clinical practice and leadership in end-of-life care.
Throughout her career, Melissa has served in a variety of roles, including home health aide, case manager, team manager, director of nursing, hospice residence administrator, and Director of Inpatient Hospice Units. Her extensive experience and commitment to excellence have made her a trusted leader in the field.
Melissa currently serves as the Hospice House Director, where she continues to advocate for high-quality, patient-centered care.
Outside of her professional role, Melissa enjoys spending quality time with her children and grandchildren, finding joy and balance in family life.
Audience/Accreditations and Approvals
TRC Healthcare/ NetCE
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by TRC Healthcare/ NetCE. TRC Healthcare/NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This course is designed for the following healthcare professions (select your profession for details):
Nursing
If you require special accommodations, please contact Colibri Healthcare Support by clicking here: Contact Us
