CHP-SW study plan

Map the full CHP-SW domain outline into a one-page concept skeleton, labeling each subarea with a confidence rating from 1 to 5 so weak areas are visible from day one.

Define the hospice philosophy and the palliative-care continuum in your own words, then contrast curative, life-prolonging, and comfort-focused goals of care with two clinical examples each.

Explain Medicare Hospice Benefit eligibility rules, including the two-physician certification, the terminal-illness prognosis standard, and the four levels of hospice care, without consulting notes by week's end.

Draft a personal glossary of 25 core terms (e.g., prognostic disclosure, disenfranchised grief, total pain) with a one-line definition and one practice example per term.

Describe the interdisciplinary team roles (physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain, aide, volunteer, bereavement specialist) and state the distinct function of each in a written table.

Outline the psychosocial social work process across referral, assessment, intervention, and termination, naming at least three tasks tied to each stage.

Compare three validated assessment instruments (e.g., PHQ-9 for depression, ESAS for symptom burden, PPS or PPS-ST for functional status) and note when each is appropriate.

Practice writing a hospice psychosocial assessment note using a fictional patient, covering strengths, stressors, supports, and safety concerns.

Explain the physiology and psychosocial impact of common terminal symptoms: pain, dyspnea, nausea, fatigue, delirium, and anorexia-cachexia, and connect each to a social work intervention.

Distinguish tolerance, physical dependence, addiction, and pseudoaddiction, and describe how misconceptions about opioids affect patient and family fear of pain medication.

Identify the social worker's role in non-pharmacologic comfort measures and in advocating for symptom reassessment when a patient reports uncontrolled distress.

Analyze how culture, faith, and prior experiences shape a patient's interpretation of pain and suffering, using two contrasting case vignettes you write yourself.

Summarize the ethical principles (autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, veracity, fidelity) and apply each to one hospice scenario you construct.

Distinguish voluntary active euthanasia, physician-assisted dying, terminal sedation, and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, and articulate the social work position on each.

Explain advance care planning documents (living will, durable power of attorney for health care, POLST/MOLST) and describe the social worker's role in facilitating conversations.

Rehearse a goals-of-care conversation with a colleague or recorded role-play, then write a self-critique identifying two strengths and two gaps.

Describe grief, mourning, and bereavement, and compare at least three theoretical models (e.g., Kübler-Ross stages, Worden's tasks, Dual Process Model, continuing bonds) without treating any as a rigid sequence.

Differentiate normal, anticipatory, complicated, and disenfranchised grief, and list risk factors that warrant referral for specialized bereavement support.

Outline a bereavement risk assessment and a follow-up plan consistent with hospice bereavement requirements, including timing of contacts for the first year.

Identify when prolonged grief disorder criteria apply and how they differ from depression and normal bereavement.

Explain the social worker's legal and regulatory duties: HIPAA privacy in hospice, mandatory reporting, informed consent, documentation standards, and scope-of-practice boundaries.

Describe self-determination and confidentiality dilemmas specific to hospice, such as a family requesting that a prognosis be withheld from the patient.

Identify signs of elder mistreatment, caregiver burnout, and financial exploitation, and state the reporting and support steps for each.

Build a self-care and professional-boundary plan that names concrete strategies for compassion fatigue, moral distress, and cumulative loss.

Synthesize all prior weeks into a single study outline and flag any domain subarea still rated below 3 for targeted review.

Complete at least 120 practice questions under timed conditions and log every missed item by topic and error type (knowledge gap, misread, or reasoning error).

Review each missed item by writing the correct rationale in your own words and linking it to a source concept, not just the answer letter.

Explain the roles of payment sources, hospice regulations, and quality reporting (e.g., HQRP) well enough to answer policy-level questions.

Re-drill the five weakest subareas identified in week 7 using flashcards, concept maps, or teach-back to a study partner.

Complete two full-length timed practice exams and compare scores to the week-7 baseline to confirm improvement.

Recite the key facts for eligibility, ethics, grief models, and confidentiality from memory in a 20-minute self-quiz.

Finalize a test-day plan covering timing per question, flagging strategy, and a review routine for marked items.