Vermont Advance Care Planning Facilitator Training – Virtual Series, March 2026

Posted: February 13, 2026

March 2026 – Tuesdays from 12:00-1:30pm

The goal of this series is to improve general knowledge about advance care planning documents and support effective facilitation of advance care planning conversations.  At the end of this series participants will be able to:

  • Apply Vermont’s legal and ethical framework to support patient self-determination
  • Appreciate the essential terminology and best practice strategies to have advance care planning conversations
  • Differentiate between and understand when to use different Advance Directive documents
  • Develop strategies for navigating medical decision-making in complex situations
  • Understand when portable medical orders (DNR/COLST) may be appropriate and where they fit in the advance care planning continuum
  • Successfully support Vermonters in using the Vermont Advance Directive Registry

Sessions are intended for anyone who is supporting Vermonters to complete advance care planning documents. This includes but is not limited to: physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians’ assistants, hospitalists, care managers, social workers, chaplains, doulas, naturopaths, estate and elder law attorneys and other professionals or volunteers.

CME/CEU/CLE approval pending

Session 1: Advance Care Planning Overview

March 3, 2026, 12:00-1:30pm

presented by Cindy Bruzzese & Diana Barnard

  • Vermont Advance Directives: Terminology & Legal/Ethical Framework
  • Advance Directives That Work: Facilitating Conversations about Healthcare Values

Learning Objectives Session 1 – Participants will be able to:

  • Apply Vermont’s legal and ethical framework appropriately to support patient self-determination
  • Appreciate the essential terminology and best practice strategies to have advance care planning conversations
  • Implement strategies to support individuals in completing effective advance directives
Register (Session 1)

Session 2: Advance Directive Documents

March 10, 2026, 12:00-1:30pm

presented by Taylor Murray & Diana Barnard

  • Completing Advance Directive Forms
  • Choosing the Right Advance Directive Form

Learning Objectives Session 2 – Participants will be able to:

  • Differentiate between and understand when to use different Advance Directive Documents
  • Develop proficiency in supporting individuals to accurately complete advance directive forms
Register (Session 2)

Session 3: Out-of-Hospital Medical Orders

March 17, 2026, 12:00-1:30pm

presented by Cindy Bruzzese & Diana Barnard

  • Vermont DNR/COLST and Planning Beyond ADs

Learning Objectives Session 3 – Participants will be able to:

  • Appreciate the difference between preference-based advance directive and consent-based medical orders
  • Describe when portable medical orders (DNR/COLST) may be appropriate and where they fit in the advance care planning continuum
Register (Session 3)

Session 4: Navigating Challenging Situations

March 24, 2026, 12:00-1:30pm

presented by Cindy Bruzzese & Diana Barnard

  • Capacity and Surrogate Decision-Making
  • Dementia and other complex diseases

Learning Objectives Session 4 – Participants will be able to:

  • Appreciate the relationship between decision-making capacity and informed consent
  • Apply advance care planning facilitation skills to disease specific situations to help patients identify goals and priorities
Register (Session 4)

Session 5: The Vermont Advance Directive Registry

March 31, 2026, 12:00-1:30pm

presented by Taylor Murray & Cindy Bruzzese

  • Using the Vermont Advance Directive Registry (VADR)

Learning Objectives Session 5 – Participants will be able to:

  • Describe the submission process for the VADR and how health care professionals can access documents when needed
  • Support individuals to successfully submit or upload advance directives to the VADR
Register (Session 5)