Daley Earns MS, Assumes Role as Spokesperson for Compassionate Bereavement Care (CBC)

Master of Science in nursing education helps Madonna Daley tie 27 years as CCU nurse to role as spokesperson for Bereavement Service’ international CBC course

LA CROSSE, Wis., MAY 9, 2005 – Madonna Daley’s latest credential, a Master of Science degree in Nursing Education, awarded by Winona State University on May 6, 2005, is another step ahead in a lifelong nursing career. Built upon a foundation of 27 years as a critical coronary care bedside nurse, Daley’s degree has helped prepare her for her new job as Bereavement Services educator.

Daley started work on her master’s degree 3 years ago, in August 2002. She explains she has always loved bedside nursing, but after 27 years, Daley started to look for a new venue for caring for people. She wanted to move forward, maintain her nursing focus, and establish a higher level of expertise.

“I made the decision to work on my master’s degree when I realized I couldn’t do more, but I could do better.”

For Daley, completing her master’s and starting her new job as Bereavement Services educator came together at a good time. While she describes going back to school for her master’s degree as a great challenge, she believes it gave her a new appreciation for nursing, as well as a new way to care for people.

Experience and Education Add up to Leadership

Daley began her position with Bereavement Services in August 2004. Bereavement care has always been an important part of her job, but since she joined Bereavement Services, bereavement care education for professionals has become her primary focus.

“With her experience and education, we’re looking to Madonna to act as lead spokesperson for our general bereavement course, Compassionate Bereavement Care (CBC),” explains Bereavement Services Director Rana Limbo, PhD. “She’ll update our training format, and redefine the things that are important for participants to hear and understand. She’ll help them better implement a bereavement program at their own facility, and she’ll help them improve the skills they need to teach bereavement care to their co-workers.

“She’s also chairing the GL committee to develop our CBC course specifically for pediatric bereavement care.” Limbo emphasizes the importance of this role. “As we understand the national trends in health care and family life, we are finding that people everywhere are seeking guidance in working with the bereaved. We can provide the education they need.”

Daley believes she can bring new ideas to content and do a better job of teaching because or her experience and master’s degree. She plans to help improve bereavement care locally, regionally, and internationally. Through research, writing, and curriculum development for in-house and international bereavement education programs, Daley will work to expand Bereavement Services’ influence. By evaluating bereavement educational materials already in print and online, Daley will strive to enhance credibility, quality, and educational leadership for Bereavement Services.

Teaching, a Constant Companion to Nursing

According to Daley, nursing requires constant learning, not only learning about your patient, but learning new technology, new medicines, and new information about physiology.

“It’s all about change, all of the time,” says Daley. “You need to be flexible and adaptable. And you need to just keep going. It takes strength.”

In addition to constant learning, a bedside nurse is always teaching patients about health issues, about procedures and care that will help them heal, about how to approach health issues, and about how to make life better.

“The bedside nurse has a lot of influence,” explains Daley. “That’s why it’s important to be knowledgeable, accountable, responsible. Teaching is a constant companion to nursing.”

Daley is no stranger to teaching. Throughout her career, she has actively participated in teaching patients and co-workers. She has taught in-service courses relating to cardiac care; she has consulted nationally for Clinical Ladders, a career program for nursing; and she served on the committee that established the preceptor to help initiate new staff into the Gundersen Lutheran culture and nursing milieu – a role that Daley has assumed many times throughout her nursing career.

Daley’s current educational projects include course revisions for RTS Coordinator Training in Perinatal Loss and Newborn Death, Bereavement Services’ train-the-trainer course developed in 1985. In addition, working with Bereavement Services’ Jo Glasser, PhD, and Director Rana Limbo, PhD, RN, Daley will play a significant role in the development of curriculum for the new RTS Coordinator Advanced Training, a training designed to help RTS Coordinators stay abreast of current grief research, educational techniques, and bereavement support materials. Slated for August 2005, the Bereavement Services educational event will bring to La Crosse some of the leaders in hospital and clinic-based RTS care.

Daley will also continue to monitor and update curriculum for Bereavement Services’ three new online courses due to be released this spring. Online courses include Caring for the Bereaved, Theoretical Framework of Grief, and Caring for the Family Experiencing Perinatal Loss – an Introduction to RTS. These courses will not replace current in-person bereavement care seminars, but will serve to introduce bereavement care to new audiences, or help refresh or test competency for those already trained. They will be available to GL staff throughout the system.

Daley’s greatest, on-going challenge will be in her role as spokesperson for CBC, which began in 1991 and was developed by Bereavement Services into a course in 1996, adding to their on-going success in educating professionals to care for families who have experienced perinatal loss (RTS Training). CBC teaches healthcare professionals about bereavement care for family loss throughout the continuum of life. With Daley as CBC spokesperson, lead educator, and curriculum designer, Bereavement Services plans to make CBC training available to professionals concerned with organ donation, pediatrics, and hospice bereavement care.

It’s All About Caring

“It’s about caring,” says Daley. “Caring is a core component, an essential component. From that springboard, knowledge, research, and teaching come together. It all happens because you care. And then, you understand just how precious life is,” she adds. “Don’t waste a moment of it!”

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About Bereavement Services

Bereavement Services, a program of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation, La Crosse, Wisconsin, has provided bereavement courses and support services for healthcare professionals since 1981. Beginning with the development of the perinatal bereavement program, RTS Bereavement Training in Pregnancy Loss and Newborn Death, Bereavement Services has trained over 27,000 healthcare professionals in all 50 states, the Philippines, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Japan, and Canada. Bereavement Services continues to provide groundbreaking educational and support resources for caregivers and bereaved families. Many of their support materials are available in English and Spanish. Primary courses include RTS Bereavement Training in Pregnancy Loss and Newborn Death, Compassionate Bereavement Care, Compassionate Death Notification, and Building Foundations for Bereavement Care … Adult, Pediatric, and Perinatal Loss. Three new online courses have also been added this year and will be available online at the end of May. For more information, visit www.bereavementservices.org.

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