Ministry to the Dying

Combined Bachelors/Masters Degree Program in Pastoral Thanatology

PTH 550

Breyer State University

Instructor:

Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D, DCH, RN, CS, CH-C
Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner
Certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse
Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
Certified Grief Counselor

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to the combined Bachelors/Masters degree program in Pastoral Thanatology, offered by Breyer State University. You have made a wise decision to pursue study and acquire the knowledge and skills needed to practice in this growing pastoral and behavioral health specialty. This area of specialty practice is growing all the time and many well trained professionals and pastoral ministers are needed throughout the world to provide support, care and ministry to the dying. Obtaining the credential from a quality program is essential to capitalize on this career and ministry opportunity. You have made an excellent choice for your continuing education and skill attainment. I am sure you will be pleased with our degree program's course of study.

This comprehensive college-based course is developed to provide learners with an understanding of anticipatory mourning, what it is, how to deal most effectively with it and other related issues, including research outcomes. It is a comprehensive course and requires significant learning. It is foundational to the degree program and prepares students to work therapeutically and most effectively with all dimensions and presentations of anticipatory mourning.

TIME FRAME: This is a eight-semester hour course. This course is allotted ten weeks of time. You must complete all of the requirements for the course successfully by the end of the ten-week period. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course, or the day which you notify me that your textbook has arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless you have good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded eight-semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOKS: There are two required textbooks for this course.

Book 1: Sacred Passage: How to provide fearless, compassionate care for the dying. Margaret Coberly. Boston;Shambhala Publications:2002. ISBN # 1-59030-017-3.

Book 2: Give Sorrow Words: Working with a dying child 2nd edition. Dorothy Judd. New York;Haworth Press:1995. ISBN# 0-7890-6020-5.

	» Click Here to Enter
» Additional Student Resources at StudyTactics

Order your books as soon as possible so that you can begin your course of study.

EXAMINATIONS: Examinations are taken online via the Breyer State University web site. Once you have registered for this program, you will receive instructions on accessing and taking the examinations. There is one examination for this course, a final exam.

GRADING: Examination is essay-type for this course. The grading scale is:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. However, I am also available for conversation by telephone. Our classroom for this course has a "chat" room. I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats. You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR: Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D., MBA, RN,CS, CNAA, FACHE, is President of Dominick L. Flarey and Associates, a health care consulting and education firm, located in northeast Ohio. He has held positions as a certified nurse practitioner, associate administrator of patient care, chief operating office and administrator in acute care hospitals. He is Dean of Nursing and Alternative Health Care Programs at Canyon College, and lectures for Cross Country Seminars national seminar company based in Nashville. He was an executive consultant to a national "big 6" accounting firm's health care practice and was a service line administrator and consultant for case management for another national consulting firm. He holds a BSN, an MBA, and Doctorates in nursing administration and management. He is a certified adult nurse practitioner and certified clinical hypnotherapist.

He is also certified as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Washington, DC. He lectures extensively across the country on Management, including models, systems, outcomes and legal/ethical issues. He also lectures nationally on the topic of Biopsychiatry. His clinical practice includes hypnotherapies for Grief and Bereavement, care of adults with depression, anxiety disorders and panic disorder. He uses hypnotherapies, guided meditation and visualization in his work with those grieving. He is the President of Breyer State University.
He is co-author/editor of two textbooks on Case Management (see below) and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal, "Nursing Case Management: Managing the Process of Patient Care."
Dr. Flarey is also certified in nursing administration advanced. He is a board certified health care executive by the American College of Healthcare Executives, and is a Fellow in the college. He also holds national certification in managed care from the Professional Education Institute. He is a Certified Medical-Legal Consultant.

He is editor-in-chief of JONA's (Journal of Nursing Administration) Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation. He is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Nursing Administration, Seminars for Nurse Managers, Case Management: Managing the Process of Patient Care, and Nursing Outcomes. He has authored over 50 published articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Flarey is editor/author of the book, "Redesigning Nursing Care Delivery: Transforming Our Future," published by Lippincott/Raven publishers. He is also co-editor/author of the following books by Aspen Publishers: "Reengineering Nursing and Health Care: The Handbook for Organizational Transformation," winner of a 1995 AJN book of the year award, "The Handbook of Nursing Case Management: Health Care Delivery in a World of Managed Care," "Case Studies in Case Management," "Health Care Outcomes: Collaborative, Path-Based Approaches," and "Cardiovascular Outcomes: Collaborative, Path-Based Approaches," and "Process-Centered Healthcare Organizations."

INSTRUCTOR AVAILABILITY: Upon registration, you will be given my e-mail address. I am available periodically through e-mail, so please e-mail me any questions that may occur. That is why I am here. I will do everything to help you as much as possible. Please do not wait until the end of the class to try to get help. It will be too late. Anytime your grade falls below C, I will try to contact you about it. If I do not, please do not hesitate to contact me through e-mail.

GETTING STARTED: As soon as you receive your textbook for the course, you may begin your course of study. Once you have registered for the course, I will send to you a letter of introduction with more explanations and the course assignments.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Understand and discuss major issues related to denial of death and dying.
2). Define and discuss the concept of healing.
3). Define and discuss palliative care.
4). Reflect on the universality of death.
5). Discuss the concept of awakening to impermanence and facing death.
6). Define and discuss Buddhist philosophies of death.
7). Define and discuss the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
8). Identify and discuss the eight stages of dissolution.
9). Discuss the Tibetan art of death.
10). Define practical applications for care providers.
11). Discuss transpersonal issues in care of the dying.
12). Define issues related to end stage care.
13). Define and discuss major issues related to death and dying of children.
14). Understand and discuss children’s most common attitudes to death.
15). Discuss common reactions in children related to life-threatening illnesses.
16). Discuss various support systems that can be assessed.

COURSE CONTENT:

1). Death and denial.
2). Community denial of death.
3). Death in the emergency room.
4). The medical paradigm.
5). Palliative care and healing.
6). Healing and the power of the mind.
7). Reflecting on death.
8). Questioning assumptions.
9). Impermanence.
10). Karma.
11). The enlightened mind.
12). The stages of dissolution.
13). The Tibetan art of death.
14). Forgiveness.
15). Ensuring peace at the end.
16). The death of a child.
17). Children’s attitudes about death.
18). Talking to children about death.
19). Emotional reactions to life-threatening illnesses.
20). Support systems.
21). Retrospective analysis.
22). Prolonging death.
23). Caring for those who survive.
24). The functioning of social systems.

PREREQUISITE: GRF 150, GRF 200, PTH 250, PTH 380, and PTH 490 are pre-requisites for this course.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may address them to adm@breyerstate.com. An administrative faculty member will respond to all questions.

Apply	Pay Online	Refund Policy
Payment Plan	Email for Info	Register for a Course