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, she began working in various academic medical centers in Ohio and North Carolina. She completed a Certificate of Training in Weight Management and Advanced Training in Metabolic Adaptations. She also holds the Google Project Management Professional Certification. During her tenure working in direct patient care, she was a certified specialist in oncology nutrition and founded an oncology teaching garden at the SECU Family House for patients and their families undergoing cancer treatment. Meredith has experience in providing nutrition therapy in both acute and ambulatory settings in areas of oncology, cardio-thoracic transplant, renal, and general medicine.

Target Audience:
The target audience for this course is: Nursing Personnel; Nutrition and Dietetics Professionals; in the following settings: Hospitals: Acute.

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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.