Pediatric advance care planning

Making decisions when your child has a serious illness can feel overwhelming. Our team is here to support you and your child. We provide a safe and open space for ongoing conversations about your wishes, hopes, and values. These talks help guide future health care decisions and shared decision-making.

Why are these conversations important?

Planning ahead may help your child and you prepare for future decisions, reduce stress and support your child’s comfort and care.  Advance Care planning includes:

• Sharing illness understanding and what may be ahead in your child’s illness
• Thinking and talking about what matters most to your child and your family
• Exploring interventions and treatment options and what they mean for your child’s  care and comfort
• Creating documentation to reflect scope of medical treatment, goals and wishes using the Provincial Pediatric Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (pMOST) form

Our clinical team can explain medical information in clear language. This helps you make decisions that are in your child’s best interest. We can also help coordinate with other health care providers so everyone works together to meet your child’s needs.

When do these conversations happen?

They are ongoing and may occur:

• As your child’s care changes
• During hospice admission in family team meetings
• Across your child’s illness journey

Your child’s voice matters

• Your child’s preferences are an important part of decision-making. We work with your family to involve your child in ways that match their age, experience, understanding, and comfort level.
• Including children in decisions helps them feel valued and empowered. It can also make treatments easier to cope with and build trust with the care team.

How do we get started?

Email the Canuck Place intake nurses if your questions surround an upcoming or possible hospice admission or phone the Canuck Place Advance Practice nurses at 604-742-3478 for any outpatient questions or requests.

Here are some questions to consider before meeting with the team:

• What would your family like to know about the illness and next steps?
• What information would help your family make decisions?
• What is most important to your family?
• What are your questions and concerns?
• How can your child take part in these conversations?

Family resources about Advance Care Planning

• Canuck Place handout: Talking to your care team about the future
• Canuck Place website resource: Supporting a child with advance care planning
• Provincial Pediatric Medial Orders for Scope of Treatment form (pMOST): page one is a medical order completed with a physician or nurse practitioner that guides care across health care settings in BC. Page two is a collaborative document completed by a child, parent or healthcare provider to share child and family preferences and aspects of care supportive to shared decision-making.
• Courageous Parents Network

• For school-aged children:
  • Talking with your child from Caring Together
  • BC Children’s Hospital and Canuck Place Children’s Hospice Pediatric Serious Illness Partnership Guide: Making healthcare decisions together
  • Caring Together Me and my illness activity book: for children to help them think about their Illness
• For youth and young adults:
  • Voicing my choices: A planning guide for young adults
  • Advance Care Planning: Health Link BC page