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Evaluation

Education Strategies for Direct Care & Facility Staff

(CME133) Beyond the Blow Up: Educating PALTC Teams to De-escalate with Empathy

Friday, March 27, 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM PT
Room: Platinum Ballroom 3-4
CE: 1.5
CMD Management Credit Recording
CME: (1.5) MOC: (1.5) CMD Management: (1.5) AAFP (1.5)
Session Summary: This interactive session offers practical teaching strategies for training PALTC staff to manage patient anger with empathy and professionalism. During this 90-minute interactive workshop participants will be introduced to key concepts that embody self-reflection and managing one’s own response (e.g. Above the Line Below the Line) and a step-wise process for managing anger in the workplace (identifying anger and irritability triggers, labeling anger, building trust, demonstrating compassion, and recovery from conflict), Participants will engage in simulated, moderately challenging patient scenarios to practice core techniques, with emphasis on rethinking anger as a clinical opportunity and recovery after conflict. Participants will leave with actionable tools to integrate into staff education and mentorship programs.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:
  • Identify common triggers and expressions of anger among nursing home residents and families and explain how reframing anger as a signal of unmet needs can help staff respond with empathy and confidence.
  • Practice and apply effective communication strategies for managing anger in long-term care, including techniques such as labeling emotions, showing compassion, and addressing root causes, using role play and reflective discussion.
  • Integrate practical de-escalation approaches into daily workflows and support team well-being by modeling recovery and reflection after challenging interactions with residents or families.