PEG Tubes and End-of-Life Care

Course Code: REL-ACU-0-PTELC

Hours: 1

Type: Online Course

Content Expiration Date: 12/31/2026

Learning Objectives:
Recognize when artificial nutrition and hydration is appropriate.
Recall the risks associated with tube feeding during end-of-life care.
Indicate the legal and ethical considerations that influence the decision to place a feeding tube.

Outline:

Section 1: Introduction

About This Course

Learning Objectives

Section 2: Artificial Nutrition and Hydration

A Difficult Choice

Tube Feeding

Tube Feeding as a Medical Intervention

Risks

Review

Section 3: End-of-Life Care

PEG Placement and Terminal Illness

PEG Tube Placement and Dementia

Physiology of Death and Dying

Providing Compassionate Care

Withdrawing vs. Forgoing a PEG Tube

Review

Section 4: Guidance for Healthcare Providers

Documenting Patient Wishes

Helping a Patient Choose

Using Medical Organizations for Guidance

Review

Section 5: Clinical Vignette

Mr. Gonzalez’s Story

Section 6: Conclusion

Course Summary

Course Contributor

Resources

References

Subject Matter Expert: Meredith Moyers MS, RD, LDN

Meredith earned a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from The University of Akron and a Master of Science in Human Nutrition from Eastern Michigan University.  After completing her internship with The Detroit Medical Center in 2007, she began working in various academic medical centers in Ohio and North Carolina. She has experience in providing nutrition therapy in both acute and ambulatory settings.  Her areas of nutrition specialty include oncology, cardio-thoracic transplant, renal, and general medicine.  Meredith has been a guest speaker for numerous cancer survivorship groups and presented telemedicine lectures for North Carolina community colleges. She founded and ran an oncology teaching garden at the SECU Family House for patients and their families undergoing cancer treatment at The University of North Carolina. She is currently a SME writer for Relias. 

Target Audience:
The target audience for this course is: Dietitians; Nurses; in the following settings: Acute Care Facility.

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To earn continuing education credit for this course you must achieve a passing score of 80% on the post-test and complete the course evaluation.

Course Delivery Method and Format
Asynchronous Distance Learning with interactivity which includes quizzes with questions/answers, and posttests.