AUDIO
Education has always been an integral part of St Christopher’s mission. Dame Cicely wanted to ensure excellent end of life care was available to all; this meant training and educating others to understand its importance and know the best way to provide such care.
Dame Cicely was determined to share her learning and the practices that were being put in place at St Christopher’s. She travelled widely to spread the word about new approaches to ‘care for the dying, and hundreds of visitors came to the hospice every year. Some, like Dr Balfour Mount, who was instrumental in the development of palliative care in Canada, were deeply influenced by their educational visits to St Christopher’s.
Working with organisations like English National Board of Nursing, St Christopher’s also extended its reach and influence in the development of palliative medicine as a recognised discipline.
Our original Education Centre opened its doors in 1973 and over almost 50 years welcomed thousands of learners for courses, seminars and workshops.
In 2021 we opened St Christopher’s Centre for Awareness and Response to End of Life, known as St Christopher’s CARE, which, with its modern facilities, is the perfect place for both professionals and the public to explore living with dying and loss.
Experts on end of life regularly hold events and webinars through St Christopher’s CARE for people from all round the world; some at the very beginning of their career and others already working within hospice care and looking to enhance their knowledge and practice.
The influence of such a varied offering can be seen across the globe and education and progressing end of life care will always be a crucial part of St Christopher’s.
The lasting power of Dame Cicely’s teachings had a lot to do with the uniqueness of her lectures. Dame Cicely always let the patients do the teaching. Every lecture was based on slide presentations filled with the faces of the patients, each telling their own stories. Dr Cicely Saunders taught that it’s the individual person that counts. It’s the paying of attention to the individual’s needs, symptoms, fears and pain, which matters. Teaching abstract theories and principles never have the power of the impact compared to that of the personal story.
RESOURCES
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WATCH
As part of the St Christopher’s Oral History Project, hear from Education Business Manger Dion Bachmann, on the connections built at conferences at St Christopher's Hospice.