Maine College Adds End-Of-Life Doula Class to Curriculum

As people's interests, abilities and aspirations all change with the time, so too must the courses offers at colleges and universities all around the country and here at home in Maine. And, following along with that, one Maine university has just added a rather unique course to its lineup.

To start things off, it would be super-helpful to paint an accurate picture of what a Doula actually is. Well, according to Dona.Org, a Doula is,

a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and shortly after childbirth to help them achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.

Not information that most of us didn't already know, am I right? Well, what I for one didn't realize, is that there are actually end-of-life Doulas, and one Maine school is turning their focus to helping students prepare to become one.

According to an article published by WMTW News 8, Maine's University of New England Online is adding an End-Of-Life Doula program. The school says the course is aimed at assisting students in being supportive and compassionate caregivers to those nearing the end of their journey on earth.

UNE goes on to explain that this particular online course had 8 different modules aimed at different parts of care. Everything from hands on assistance with the dying loved one to how best to communicate with family and friends of the dying person during those difficult moments.

Rebecca Diggins, a professor who helped design the program at UNE said in part,

“Our goal is to help the doula gain understanding of the various disciplines involved in end-of-life care. With what they learn through this curriculum, doulas have an opportunity to be impactful across multiple dimensions of the end-of-life journey.”

For more information on this course or others offered by UNE, just click here to begin exploring.