Yvonne Bray

Support and Education for Carers

Family carers are a group of people with significant needs and the level of care for their loved ones in end-of-life can be affected by the impact of psychosocial factors and stress within the family. As a hospice, how can we support them in a way that is appropriate for them? What are their specific needs at this time and how do we identify them?  This session will elaborate on the process that answered these questions and created a programme that addressed these special needs of carers.

Intended audience: The session will present information that would interest any health professional working with families facing life challenging and end-of-life illness.

Biography: Yvonne Bray is a registered nurse and lecturer who has worked in palliative care education since 1996. Her first palliative care education modules were run by the Hospices of Auckland from 1996 till 2000 when she joined the Goodfellow Unit and initiated the creation of the Postgraduate Palliative Care Courses that are run for multidisciplinary health practitioners. Yvonne completed her Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Arts degrees during this time and enjoys working with students in one-on-one coaching and classroom interaction.
Yvonne also works at the Hospice South Auckland as Professional Development Manager and finds the interactions between these two areas of work are complimentary to one another. Self care and personal boundaries form an important part of juggling roles for this wife, mother and grandmother.