Relieving Transcendent Suffering: The Value of Ethical Wills/Legacy Letters in Hospice and Palliative Care

Ethical wills are a way to record and share your values, hopes, life's lessons, love and forgiveness with family, friends and community. In this session, participants will learn why, when and how to create an ethical will and gain a deep personal understanding of ethical wills through reading ethical wills written by hospice patients and participating in a brief guided writing exercise to create content for an ethical will. In addition, the use of ethical wills in hospice and palliative care settings to relieve transcendent suffering experienced by hospice patients will be highlighted and the challenges and opportunities for hospice staff and volunteers to engage in a practical training and implementation process will be discussed.