Professional Development

Healthcare professionals and students often share our societies hesitation in talking about death and dying and can feel unprepared on a professional and personal level to care for those preparing for and at end of life. It can be very intense navigating the grief, fears, and emotions of patients and their loved ones. It’s hard to know the “right thing” to say. It forces them on some level to face their own mortality. And our healthcare system and education primary focus is on curative treatment and saving lives. This is not easy stuff! And it is necessary to establish skills and language in this space as every patient they will ever care for will die. This work is unavoidable and increased training and competency is so needed. So, how can healthcare professionals and students best prepare and enhance their skills in facilitating these tough conversations and provide end-of-life care with increased confidence? This is where I come in. My trainings provide a combination of empirical and practice-based education, self-reflection, skill development, and resources that can be applied into practice immediately.   

Topics such as: 

  • Palliative care and hospice: Beyond the basics, how do we talk about it  

  • Complex Family Meetings: An Intentional, Skillful, and Compassionate Approach 

  • In the Shadow of Mortality: Understanding and Addressing Death Anxiety 

  • From Reflection to Documentation: A Practical Review of Advanced Care Planning for Healthcare Professionals 

  • Beyond Words: Obituary Writing as a Clinical Intervention 

  • The Intricate Landscape of Medical Aid in Dying 

  • Fuel Your Fire: Essential Self-Care Strategies to Prevent Burnout 

  • Pride in Palliative Care: Embracing LGBTQ+ Inclusive Practices 

  • End of life discussions are not often touched upon in medical training. I am a physician who deals with terminal or comfort care needs patients commonly. I found Ms. Gaston's expertise extremely helpful in helping me and my team navigate these difficult situations.

    Esmiralda Henderson MD

  • Rosie gracefully presented "The Art of Family Meetings" speech to my Case Management department. She shared techniques that allow for open yet purposeful conversation for hospitalized patients and their families. Rosie is passionate when it comes to patient autonomy and encourages a well-organized meeting, providing many examples for evaluating and understanding what those needs and or wishes may be. I will most certainly be utilizing what I learned in my everyday practice and highly recommend Rosie for your professional development needs.

    Liz Brown, RN

  • Rosie is WONDERFUL! She is extremely knowledgeable, smart, empathetic, charismatic, and passionate. She is a joy to watch speak. You can feel her passion fill up the room. We had her come in and provide a CEU and she received rave reviews from everyone I spoke to. Highly recommend for a speaking engagement or for personal services! She is a gift!

    Ally - Sales Liaison for a Twin Cities Care Community, Home Care, & Hospice

Licensure Supervision for Social Workers

Hospice and palliative care social work is very purpose driven, intimate, and beautiful work. It is also emotionally heavy, lack of resources can be unbelievably frustrating, and it can be very isolating at times. It isn’t uncommon for us to be the only social worker on the medical team, we spend a lot of time in our cars driving from home to home, and rarely have social workers in positions of leadership to provide disciplinary mentorship. I’ve been there, I get it, and I want to help.   

I am approved by the Board of Social Work in Minnesota to provide clinical supervision to graduate level social workers and am a NASW-MN Certified Supervisor. I have experience providing supervision to graduate-level social workers and masters-level interns.  I take an individualized approach to each super star social worker I support as a one size does not fit all. We are individuals with our own learning and processing styles, cultural backgrounds, strengths, areas of growth, traumas, goals, and personalities. My supervision style is that of a coach: encourage and support, facilitate growth by building upon strengths and navigating areas of struggle, teach and provide outside tools to best fit your learning style, and provide a safe and inclusive space where we learn and grow together. I really want to emphasize the learning together piece. I can’t promise I will always know the answer, while I do promise to walk alongside you as we figure it out.  

If you live near Minneapolis, I offer in-person supervision sessions. We can meet at coffee shops, libraries, or (when the weather is nice) go for a walk around the lake. If you live farther out, the MN Board of Social Work has approved all supervision can be provided via telehealth in which you may see my dog, Buddy, from time to time.