Featured Plenary Sessions
Wednesday, February 22 from 7:30–8:30 pm
The Rhythm of Teamwork
Drum Cafe, @drumcafewest
Strong teams communicate and engage in a rhythm of give and take. The Drum Cafe uses the power of rhythm and the universality of music to quickly engage and energize. Experience harmony and team work with this interactive drumming event. The Drum Cafe began in Johannesburg, South Africa, influenced by the experience of communal drumming and the passion to unite different groups of people in the country's post-apartheid era. Don't miss the exciting and unforgettable start to the Annual Assembly.
View a video from a Drum Cafe.
Read an article on how group drumming is better than medications.
Thursday, February 23 from 8:15–10 am
Only Connect: The Essential Commingling of Palliative Care and Story in Hospice and Palliative Care
Theresa Brown, @TheresaBrown
There aren't many people who both practice nursing and hold a PhD in English, but Theresa Brown is one of them. As a leading voice on health care, she also works as a hospice nurse and is a prolific writer and author. Her book, The Shift, offers a compelling insider's view of the nursing profession showing what it really takes to be on the human side of a medical institution - where lives are lost, life-altering treatment decisions are made, and dreams are fulfilled or irrevocably stolen - all in the span of twelve hours. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, Theresa writes on subjects as diverse as nurse/patient ratios, health care reform, and the importance of end-of-life care.
Friday, February 24 from 8:15–10 am
Redesigning the End-of-Life Experience
Paul Bennett, @pbennett101, and BJ Miller, @bjmillermd
Trained as a graphic designer, Paul Bennett is IDEO's Chief Creative Officer where he develops and publishes new thinking in the field of human-centered and design-led innovation. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, and Harvard Business Review and has taught and coached students from the Royal College of Art (UK), Stanford University and Columbia Business School. BJ Miller is a hospice and palliative medicine physician and sees patients and families at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he also teaches and serves on faculty. His interests lie in working across disciplines to affect broad-based culture change and cultivating a civic model for aging and dying. If design is about understanding people's needs and responding to them, how can hospice and palliative care better design end of life? Engage with the OpenIDEO innovative community project, Redesigning the End-of-Life Experience.
View Paul's TED Talk and BJ's TED Talk.
Saturday, February 25 from 8:15–10 am
The State of the Science: Update in Hospice and Palliative Care
Nick Dionne-Odom, PhD RN ACHPN
Cardinale Smith, MD PhD, @cardismith
Laura Gelfman, MD MPH
Heather Coats, MD
The State of the Science is a hallmark of the Annual Assembly that promises to stimulate your thinking and advance your knowledge. With a rigorous review of research from 2016 that is relevant to hospice and palliative care, the speakers will offer critiques and case applications important for all disciplines. Science becomes accessible in this popular and often humorous session.