Kids with Cancer Still Need School: The Providers Role from Coursera

This course will help you understand and address the challenges parents and families face regarding schooling after a cancer diagnosis.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, families can be overwhelmed learning about and managing this new and frightening reality. As they adjust to the new normal of ongoing treatment, school may be the farthest thing from their mind. However, as their oncology health care provider, you have a critical role in starting conversations about schooling. Even for your youngest patients, it is important to talk with parents and caregivers about schooling issues early and often.

This course gives you easy access to Roadmaps that help parents learn and take action so their child can access schooling supports for which they are eligible.

The modules will give you the skills and resources needed in order to support parents to use the information provided in the parent-informed Roadmaps. We hope that completing this course will help you make small changes in your everyday practice that can make a big change in how well parents can advocate for their child's schooling needs.

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction and Pre-Assessment

Your first step in this course is to take the required pre-test. At the conclusion of the pre-test you'll receive a code that you will input in order to move on to the first content module. Note - the pretest is delivered via qualtrics survey software. Some users may have a spam filter setting that blocks qualtrics. If you do not see the test please check your spam filter settings.

Understanding the Need: Uncovering the Misconceptions

A surprising finding in our research with families affected by pediatric cancer is that providers and parents have quite different perceptions about communication around school related topics such as neurocognitive impacts of cancer or its treatment. This module will introduce you to misconceptions about parent/provider communication and share identified knowledge gaps associated with the school related challenges of children affected by pediatric cancer. This information will help you understand this under-recognized need and why improving parent-provider communication about schooling related issues is critical.

Understanding and Communicating about Educationally Relevant Effects: Listening to Parents

As a provider you are aware that cancer or its treatment can confer risks for neurocognitive impacts. Such impacts and other late effects can contribute to immediate and long-term schooling challenges. This module describes some less-well-known relationships between specific treatments and late-effect risks. It provides detailed recommendations for how to foster frequent, brief conversations with parents to help ensure they are aware of school related risks. This is important because parents are a critical advocate for their child and a necessary first step is that they become aware that they may need to play this role. Your communication with parents about these issues is vital to the process.

Understanding Schooling – Available Supports: The Education Landscape

You didn’t go to medical school to teach parents about schooling challenges – but it can still be valuable to have a basic understanding of the vocabulary and processes that parents need to help support their children to succeed in school. This module provides an overview of the accommodations and services children affected by cancer are most likely to need. It clarifies what actions you can take to help as parents work with schools to determine if their child is eligible to receive them.

Using Roadmaps to Support Families: Becoming Familiar and Planning Dissemination

The previous modules have laid out the arguments for why parents need more support and they have given you important background information about schooling challenges, eligibility for services, and how to talk with parents about these issues. In this module, we provide detail the Back-to-School Roadmaps our team has created. The Roadmaps were created collaboratively with input from affected families and other stakeholders. You know from Module 2 how to have brief conversations with parents about schooling concerns – pairing those conversations with these Roadmaps can prepare parents to support their children to succeed in school. As you complete the Modules, we hope you take time to review the Roadmaps on your own and plan for how to begin having brief conversations with parents as you provide them with these tools.

Post-assessment

Your final step in this course is to take the required post-test. At the conclusion of the post-test you'll receive a code that you will input in order to complete this CME. Note - the posttest is delivered via qualtrics survey software. Some users may have a spam filter setting that blocks qualtrics. If you do not see the test please check your spam filter settings.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Provides communication strategies for educating providers on the educational needs of children with cancer

Offers strategies for improving parent-provider communication on school-related topics

Features industry-recognized instructors with expertise in both oncology and education

Provides resources and tools for supporting families during the schooling process

Provides practical guidance for healthcare providers on supporting families

Reviews summary

Highly recommended for providers

Learners say this is an excellent course for providers who work with school-aged children with cancer. The course provides providers with the essential knowledge and skills needed to help these children thrive both academically and socially.

Career center

Learners who complete Kids with Cancer Still Need School: The Providers Role will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Pediatric Oncology Nurse

As a Pediatric Oncology Nurse, you will provide care to children with cancer and their families. This course will help you understand the unique challenges that these children face, including the impact of cancer and its treatment on their education. You will learn how to support families in advocating for their child's schooling needs and how to communicate effectively with parents about these issues.

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School Social Worker

As a School Social Worker, you will work with children and families to address the social, emotional, and behavioral challenges that can impact their education. This course will help you understand the specific challenges that children with cancer face and how to support them in accessing the school-based services they need.

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Special Education Teacher

As a Special Education Teacher, you will work with children with disabilities to help them reach their full academic potential. This course will help you understand the unique learning needs of children with cancer and how to develop and implement effective individualized education programs for them.

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Guidance Counselor

As a Guidance Counselor, you will work with students to help them make informed decisions about their education and career. This course will help you understand the challenges that children with cancer face and how to support them in developing realistic goals and plans for their future.

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Educational Advocate

As an Educational Advocate, you will work with families to ensure that their children with disabilities receive the educational services they need. This course will help you understand the legal framework for special education and how to advocate effectively for the rights of children with cancer.

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Pediatric Neuropsychologist

As a Pediatric Neuropsychologist, you will assess and treat children with neurodevelopmental disorders. This course will help you understand the neurocognitive impacts of cancer and its treatment and how to develop effective interventions to address these challenges.

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Pediatric Oncologist

As a Pediatric Oncologist, you will provide medical care to children with cancer. This course will help you understand the impact of cancer and its treatment on a child's education and how to support families in making decisions about their child's schooling.

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Child Life Specialist

As a Child Life Specialist, you will work with children and families to help them cope with the challenges of hospitalization and medical treatment. This course will help you understand the unique needs of children with cancer and how to provide them with support and comfort.

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Family Therapist

As a Family Therapist, you will work with families to help them cope with the challenges of having a child with cancer. This course will help you understand the impact of cancer on family relationships and how to provide support and counseling to families.

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Hospice Social Worker

As a Hospice Social Worker, you will work with families to provide support and care during the end-of-life process. This course will help you understand the unique needs of families with children with cancer and how to provide them with compassionate care and support.

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Pediatric Palliative Care Physician

As a Pediatric Palliative Care Physician, you will provide medical care to children with life-limiting illnesses. This course will help you understand the challenges of providing care to children with cancer and how to support families in making decisions about their child's care.

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Pediatric Chaplain

As a Pediatric Chaplain, you will provide spiritual support to children and families in the hospital setting. This course will help you understand the unique needs of children with cancer and how to provide them with comfort and support.

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Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, you will provide primary care to children. This course will help you understand the unique needs of children with cancer and how to provide them with comprehensive care.

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Pediatric Rehabilitation Specialist

As a Pediatric Rehabilitation Specialist, you will work with children with disabilities to help them improve their physical, cognitive, and social skills. This course will help you understand the unique needs of children with cancer and how to develop and implement effective rehabilitation plans for them.

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Pediatric Occupational Therapist

As a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, you will work with children with disabilities to help them improve their fine motor skills and coordination. This course will help you understand the unique needs of children with cancer and how to develop and implement effective occupational therapy interventions for them.

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