ESPEC Overview

Hui Pohala is pleased to bring ESPEC to the Hawaiian Islands! Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC) is an innovative, evidence-informed training program designed for social workers, by social workers, to promote the integration of primary palliative care skills into clinical practice. It is designed as a multi-part hybrid program building from the framework of the eight domains of palliative care identified by the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care. Using adult learning principles and developed in concert with instructional designers, the ESPEC curriculum includes interactive exercises, reflective questions, and resources for self-directed learning with engaging videos of patient and family encounters that integrate best social work practices. Please learn more at: ESPEC and the resources below.

Learning Objectives

• Identify best practices for social workers to integrate key primary palliative care principles into their clinical work.
• Recognize the knowledge base and practice skills necessary to pursue additional competence in primary palliative social work.
• Apply the skills necessary for leadership, effective interprofessional communication, collaborative practice, and as ESPEC trainers.

Dates & Locations

ESPEC is a state-of-the art curriculum providing interactive coursework with engaging videos of patient and family encounters, highlighting best social work practices using the eight domains of palliative care as the framework. The Hawai‘i ESPEC curriculum consists of three parts. Learners must complete their online Part I before attending Part II. Part II is an in-person “live” event offered on each of the neighbor islands listed below:

Island	Date	Location
Hawai’i: Hilo	1/26/26 (Mon)	TBD
Hawai’i: Kona	1/28/26 (Wed)	TBD
Maui (incl Moloka’i attendees)	1/30/26 (Fri)	TBD
Kaua’i	2/2/26 (Tues)	TBD
O’ahu	2/5/26 (Thurs)	TBD

Event Organizers

This special Hawai‘i ESPEC training opportunity is made possible by the generous support from the following organizations: Hui Pohala, NASW Hawai‘i, and the Mits Aoki Legacy Foundation. We welcome you and your organization to partner with us in making this event possible for social workers across our state. Please click HERE to learn more.

Notable Presenters

The ESPEC program was developed as a partnership between the MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN). We are fortunate to have palliative care practitioners and researchers of ESPEC Ms. Shirley Otis-Green, MSW, MA, ACSW, LCSW, OSW-CE, FNAP, FAOSW and Dr. Myra Glajchen, DSW, MSW, BSW, ACSW, APHSW-C as your instructors. Please read more about the Facilitators.

Training

Part I: ESPEC Core: Self-Directed Online Training

This comprehensive self-paced training integrates the eight domains of palliative care identified by the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care into health social work practice. The training includes videos of patient and family encounters, interactive exercises, reflective questions, and resources for self-directed learning. Completion of Part I is a prerequisite for Part II participation.

Continuing Education Credits: 8.0 total CE hours in the following categories: 2.0 Clinical Social Work; 3.5 Pain and Symptom Management; 1.5 Cross-Cultural; 1.0 Ethics. CEU verification will be provided to the participant immediately upon completion. Please print this CEU verification and bring to the Part II training.

Special Hawai‘i Participant Fee: Discounted to $125 (usually $150 for NASW Members / $200 for non-members)

Scholarships are available, please complete the Scholarship Application.

Part II: ESPEC in Action: Strategies for Practice and Leadership

Learners must complete their online Part I before participating in Part II. Participants may elect to attend Practice only, or may elect both the Practice and Leadership sessions. Social work students are welcome to the morning Practice session. Both sessions are live, in-person, instructor-led trainings, designed to improve confidence and competence in key social work skills, advocacy, and leadership using clinical scenarios and group discussion.

The Practice session is a 4-hour morning session (8-12pm) designed to help the social worker gain confidence and competence in four high-impact social work skills: assessment, family meetings, advance care planning, and interprofessional communication. This interactive session builds from the foundation laid in the online course.

We are pleased to share that ESPEC will be debuting a new Leadership session for Hawai’i participants. The Leadership “Train the Trainer” session (1-5pm) is a specially-designed interactive training session for social workers who wish to become ESPEC trainers and develop their leadership, advocacy, and teaching skills. Using ESPEC, learners will practice a range of teaching techniques and will receive personalized feedback and coaching to enhance their understanding of adult learning principles, lesson planning, and presentation skills. The objective will be to create a local community of social workers educated in Palliative Care knowledge and skills, to elevate awareness, enhance direct-practice and leadership skills, share resources, and be a support to one another. Registration for this Leadership afternoon session will be limited; please register early. 

For participants registered for both sessions (Practice + Leadership), a catered lunch will be provided. We welcome you to bring a beverage and additional snacks for yourself as needed.

Practice Continuing Education Credits: 4.0 total CE hours in the general social work category

Leadership Continuing Education Credits: 4.0 total CE hours in the general social work category

CEU verification will be emailed to the participant upon completion.

Special Hawai`i Participant Fee (register through December 19, 2025):

• $150 for the day (8.0 CE hours for Practice + Leadership sessions)
• $100 for morning session only (4.0 CE hours for Practice session)
• $30 for social work students for morning session only (Practice session)

(Practice session only is usually $100 for NASW Members / $125 for non-members. The cost for 8.0 CE hours is usually $200.)

Late Registration Fee (after December 19, 2025):

• $200 for the day (8.0 CE hours for Practice + Leadership sessions)
• $150 for morning session only (4.0 CE hours for Practice session)
• $40 for social work students for morning session only (Practice session)

A limited number of scholarships are available; please complete the Scholarship Application.

Part III: ESPEC in Action: Monthly Mentorship

Learners who have completed Part I are invited and encouraged to participate in virtual mentorship sessions. Learners are welcome to participate in either/or/both options: a Hawai’i-exclusive mentorship session offered every other month in 2026 co-facilitated by Shirley and a national mentorship session offered every month facilitated by national ESPEC staff.

Attendees will focus on the implementation of practice skills and challenges facing front-line social workers, including case discussions. For the national session, please refer to the schedule on ESPEC and click on appropriate Zoom links. More information forthcoming for the local Hawai’i sessions.

Fee: No charge to participants who have completed Part I virtual training

Resources

Defining Core Competencies for Generalist-Level Palliative Social Work – Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Development and Implementation of a New National Training Program | Journal of Palliative Medicine

Advancing the Primary Palliative Workforce: Pilot Results of the Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC) Self-Study Program | Journal of Palliative Medicine

Other Information

Cancellation Policy: Regrettably, refunds will not be issued for any cancellations of live, in-person training. Your registration may be transferred to someone else, who must have also completed the online Part I training session prior to attending the Part II session. CEU verification of the other participant must be provided.

Dress: Professional Casual

Students: Social work students need to complete Part I online training. Following completion, students are welcome to register for and attend the Part II morning Practice session (8-12pm).

Other disciplines: All disciplines are welcome to complete the Part I 8-hour online training through NASW. Priority will be given to social workers for Part II. Other disciplines are welcome to attend Part II, as space allows. Continuing Education hours and scholarships are only available for social workers.