Advance Care Planning (ACP) is essential to delivering patient-centred care. It ensures that healthcare decisions reflect the personal values, goals, and preferences of people with serious illnesses, especially if they become unable to speak for themselves.
While these conversations can be emotionally and ethically complex, starting them early significantly improves the quality of end-of-life care, reduces stress, and fosters trust between healthcare providers, patients, and families. However, many healthcare providers struggle to initiate these discussions due to discomfort, time constraints, and fear of causing distress. With proper training, healthcare providers can build the skills and confidence needed to approach ACP with clarity, compassion, and respect.
Advance Care Planning is the process of discussing and documenting a person’s wishes for future healthcare. According to the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA), ACP is:
“A way for individuals to think about, talk about and share their thoughts and wishes about the kind of health and personal care they would want in the future if they were unable to speak for themselves.”
Starting ACP discussions can be difficult for several reasons:
Healthcare providers may avoid initiating these conversations unless they are trained and supported to do so.
Training equips healthcare providers with the skills needed to discuss ACP confidently and compassionately. Structured training helps healthcare professionals:
Providers learn to use open-ended questions, read non-verbal cues, and reflective listening while recognizing emotions and responding with compassion.
ACP conversations are introduced naturally, highlighting how they honor personal wishes. Training emphasizes that ACP is an ongoing conversation that evolves over time and involves multiple discussions.
Healthcare teams help people with serious illnesses and families explore their values and care preferences while clarifying the implications of their choices.
Compassionately addressing fears, grief, and family disagreements associated with future planning supports a positive, respectful and constructive dialogue focussed on person-centered care.
Role-playing and simulation exercises build skills and prepare providers for real-world scenarios, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure consistency and support.
Life and Death Matters provides practical, accessible training tools to support healthcare providers in ACP, including:
Early ACP conversations:
ACP should be an integral part of patient care – not just reserved for the final stages of life. These conversations are most effective when started early and revisited regularly.
Structured training prepares healthcare professionals to handle sensitive conversations, reduce uncertainty, and provide care that truly respects the person at the centre.
Explore our training resources
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