March | WEBINAR
March CE Webinar - An Oral History Project: Capturing the Evolution of Palliative Social Work
Free to SWHPN Members
Friday, March 27, 2026
11am PT/2pm ET - 12pm PT/3pm ET
In honor of National Social Workers Month, this webinar will be FREE to SWHPN Members.
Presented by: Terry Altilio, LCSW, APHSW-C, Vickie Leff, LCSW-C, APHSW-C, and Nina Laing, LICSW, APHSW-C
Palliative social work is unique in that many of the architects who helped shape its development are still available along with technology that allows us to capture their stories and key milestones which provide context, depth and meaning to the foundational work and historical events that helped shape the profession’s identity.
As these oral histories are collected we create an opportunity to explore the relationship of our founding to the present and the future. These histories are being archived on a dedicated palliative social work website which will grow to serve as a resource hub for the specialty. An evolving intergenerational advisory board of social workers guides the building of the site and conduct interviews of colleagues to explore our history as well as wonderings and worries related to the specialty.
This webinar will discuss the Oral History Project, evolution and potential for sustainability of the website and the intention to build a repository for resources for and about the profession.
Learning Objectives:
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Identify the varied ways that an oral history project mirrors the clinical work of discovering individual, family and community history to consider the present, imagine and influence the future.
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Locate 3 resources on the site that may validate, challenge, enrich and inform practice and support professional identity and advocacy for palliative social work.
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Identify key historical milestones and systemic shifts in palliative social work as described by pioneering practitioners in the field.
About the Speakers:
Terry Altilio is a Palliative Social Worker with over 30 years’ experience of direct practice in acute care settings. She is a recipient of a Mayday Pain and Society Fellowship Award 2006 and a Social Work Leadership Award from the Open Society Institute’s Project on Death in America. to support a social work post graduate fellowship which continued through 2024 and a social work listserv which currently networks 975 social workers. In 2013, Terry was selected to receive the Project on Death in America, Career Achievement Award from the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Network. She lectures nationally and internationally on topics such as pain management, ethics, palliative care, language and psychosocial issues in serious illness care, teaches in post masters programs at NYU, Smith and is guest faculty for the Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care. In addition to co-authored journal publications, she is co-editor of the 1st and 2nd editions of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work, 2022 and co-editor with Bridget Sumser and Meaghan Leimena of Palliative Care – A Guide for Health Social Workers published in 2019. Most recently she has co-edited Mirrors and Windows Reflections on the Journey of Serious Illness Practice.
Vickie Leff is a Palliative Care Consultant and an Adjunct Instructor at Yeshiva University, Wurzweiler School of Social Work. With over thirty-five years of clinical practice experience in oncology, palliative care, and hospice, Vickie presents on topics such as moral distress and sustainability to several national educational organizations and institutions. She served as the Executive Director of SWHPN and prior to that as the Executive Director of the Advanced Palliative Care & Hospice Social Work Certification (APHSW) Vickie’s work has been published in Health Affairs, the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM), Journal of Palliative Medicine and other journals. She is on the editorial board of Social Work in Health Care Journal. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Practical Bioethics. She is an editor of the book Mirrors & Windows: Reflections of the Journey in Serious Illness Practice and co-author of Helping Children Cope when someone they Love has a Serious Illness. Vickie earned her Master of Social Work from Simmons School of Social Work.
Nina Laing is a trained clinical social worker and clinical ethicist at the John J. Lynch Center for Ethics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. She joined MedStar Washington Hospital Center in 2017, initially serving as both an ICU-based social worker and a palliative care social worker, where she also directed the Palliative Social Work Fellowship. Nina is deeply committed to enhancing patient care through the integrated perspectives of clinical ethics and palliative care, with particular interest in complex communication and health equity.
May | ANNUAL CONFERENCE
2026 SWHPN Annual Forum
Strength in Connection: Facing Change as a Community
Date & Location: May 7-8, 2026 | Virtual Conference
SWHPN's mission is to enhance hospice and palliative care social work through mentorship, education, community building and advocacy as change agents committed to equity and anti-racism. We start with ourselves to dismantle harms perpetuated within the systems in which we exist.
This is a virtual conference bringing together palliative and hospice social workers to explore the power of connection, resilience, and shared purpose. In a care landscape shaped by systemic inequities, shifting policies, and ongoing challenges in how care is delivered, this gathering creates space to reflect, learn, and grow together. By hosting this Forum virtually, we aim to increase accessibility for hospice and palliative care social workers who are being deeply impacted by budget cuts—ensuring we can continue to connect with and support one another across geographic and financial barriers. Through expert-led sessions and engaging dialogue, we will empower ourselves, one another, and the communities we serve—centering equity, honoring diverse experiences, and strengthening our commitment to providing compassionate, person-centered care in an ever-changing world.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Continuing Education Information
Social Work Hospice + Palliative Care Network (SWHPN), #1716, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org, through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Social Work Hospice + Palliative Care Network aka SWHPN maintains responsibility for the program. ASWB Approval Period: 7/18/2023 – 7/18/2026.
Social workers should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval for continuing education credits.