Prognostic Disclosure in Pediatric Oncology and Palliative Care - Enduring

Course Information

Course Description

Framed by Emily Dickinson's poem "Tell all the truth but tell it slant," this course examines how, when, what, and by whom prognostic information should be shared with children, adolescents, and young adults (AYAs) with serious illness. The session traces the historical evolution of prognostic disclosure in pediatrics—from a "never tell" default through the mid-20th century to the "always tell" recommendation that emerged by the late 1980s. The lecture highlights key foundational and contemporary studies on prognostic disclosure. A central theme is that prognostic communication is not a single event but an evolving, relational process. A patient's story is used to anchor this principle by illustrating shifting patient engagement, parents acting as filters of medical information, the "next step" framing of difficult conversations, and the tension between "knowing everything" and "knowing enough."

Learning Objectives

  • Describe key empirical evidence on the prognostic information preferences of children and AYAs, including how disclosure relates to trust, hope, distress, and prognostic awareness.
  • Use a patient-centered framework that addresses what to disclose, when, and by whom, rather than treating disclosure as a binary decision.
  • Use lessons from a clinical case to inform individualized, longitudinal prognostic communication that balances honesty with hope across the illness course.

 

Course Documents

Handouts

 

Course Registration


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Disclaimer

The views expressed herein are those of the presenter, they do not necessarily reflect the views of the contracted organization, department, School of Medicine, nor the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Course summary

Available credit: 
  • 1.00 ACPE Pharmacist
  • 1.00 ACPE Pharmacy Tech
  • 1.00 ASRT
  • 1.25 NCPD/CNE
  • 1.00 Participation
Course opens: 
04/28/2026
Course expires: 
04/01/2028
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Photo of Catherine Habashy, MD, MPH 

Catherine Habashy, MD, MPH

Pediatric Oncologist
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
UNC School of Medicine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Disclosures

Activity Directors
This activity has been planned and implemented through the collaborative efforts of Course Directors Stephanie Wheeler, PhD, MPH, and Emily Ray, MD, of the UNC School of Medicine; the UNC Office of Continuing Professional Development (CPD); and UNC Health Approved Provider Unit 001. No one involved in the planning process has a relevant financial relationship with ineligible companies as defined in the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education as defined by ACCME and adopted by ANCC

No one with the ability to control content of this activity has a relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company.

 

Accreditation Statements

This activity offers continuing education credit for the professions listed below. Participants should understand that their individual participation and claiming credit must abide by the regulations set forth by their respective accrediting agency. No partial credit will be provided.

1.25 NCPD/CNE
UNC Health is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the North Carolina Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

1.00 ACPE Pharmacist
The University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Statements of credit can be viewed and printed in CPE Monitor in approximately 2 to 3 weeks.

The Eshelman School of Pharmacy of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 ACPE Credit(s).

1.00 ACPE Pharmacy Tech
The University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Statements of credit can be viewed and printed in CPE Monitor in approximately 2 to 3 weeks.

The Eshelman School of Pharmacy of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 ACPE Credit(s).

1.00 ASRT
Approved by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT).
This activity is worth 1 credit hour and is approved by the ASRT.

 

Notice

In most cases, regulations prohibit the repeated use of the same educational activity (Live Webinar or Self-Paced, Online Course but not both) as it relates to satisfying CE requirements to maintain licensure. Attendees are also required to view a minimum of 53 minutes of the live webinar video to receive CE credit. Please contact your individual accreditation agencies for more details.

Altering or submitting modified certificates constitutes fraud that can result in punitive action by the accrediting agency.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 ACPE Pharmacist
  • 1.00 ACPE Pharmacy Tech
  • 1.00 ASRT
  • 1.25 NCPD/CNE
  • 1.00 Participation
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