Training & Certification
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International End-of-Life Care Association
End-of-Life Education Rooted in Presence, Dignity, and Care.
IEOLCA offers compassionate, non-medical education for people who feel drawn to end-of-life care. Our programs bring together reflective learning, practical preparation, clear scope, and the Platinum Rule: treating others as they wish to be treated.
The Platinum Rule guides everything we teach. Students learn to begin with the person in front of them: their wishes, values, culture, relationships, beliefs, fears, hopes, and choices.
What Sets IEOLCA Apart
Built for People
Built for People
Called to Compassionate Care
We believe end-of-life education should be grounded, practical, reflective, and accessible. Many students arrive with a quiet pull toward this work - through hospice, caregiving, grief work, healthcare, community service, personal loss, or a lifelong desire to offer comfort in tender moments.
The Platinum Rule
Our approach begins with treating others as they wish to be treated. We honour each person’s culture, values, relationships, identity, spirituality, choices, and way of making meaning.
Accessible by Design
Honour-based tuition options, online access, and self-paced learning help more people pursue meaningful end-of-life education wherever they live.
Reflective and Practical
Students often tell us the reflection matters as much as the tools. Our programs combine personal integration with templates, scripts, planning resources, and practical skills for real care.
Non-Medical, Deeply Human Care
We prepare students to offer emotional, spiritual, practical, relational, and legacy-centred support while working within a clear non-medical scope.
Global and Inclusive
Students from around the world choose IEOLCA because dying, grief, care, ritual, family, and remembrance are deeply human experiences across cultures and communities.
Shaped by Student Experience
Student and graduate feedback consistently highlights the value of reflective depth, practical tools, self-paced learning, clearer language, and growing confidence in the role.
Founding Leadership
Guided by Experience,
Guided by Experience,
Grounded in Care
IEOLCA's programs bring together bedside and family support, spiritual care, healthcare systems experience, reflective learning, and structured educational design. This combination helps keep the learning compassionate, practical, ethically grounded, and relevant to real-world care.
Amy-Lynne Mahon
Co-Founder & Director
Amy-Lynne Mahon is IEOLCA's Co-Founder, Director, and lead curriculum developer. She brings more than 30 years of healthcare experience, including nearly 20 years coordinating postgraduate medical education.
Her documented responsibilities have included curriculum coordination, learning objectives, learner-evaluation systems, assessment logistics, Royal College accreditation-review preparation, compliance tracking, and standards-based program operations.
She completed Bow Valley College's Health Care Aide program in 2019, including practicums in dementia and end-of-life care, and completed 40 hours of INELDA end-of-life doula training in 2024.
Since April 2023, Amy-Lynne has volunteered at Agape Hospice and now serves as a senior hospice volunteer, providing companion care, supporting families and friends, assisting with memorial services, orienting and training new volunteers, and providing hospice tours. She is also a current INELDA member.
At IEOLCA, she leads curriculum development, educational direction, learner assessment, and program documentation.
Perry Metheral
Co-Founder & Co-Director
Perry Metheral is IEOLCA's Co-Founder, Co-Director, Curriculum Developer, and a contributing reviewer. He is a Spiritual Health Practitioner with 20 years of clinical experience across acute care, mental health, palliative care, forensic psychiatry, and hospice settings.
His advanced Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training and graduate-level study in Leadership inform his compassionate, trauma-informed, person-centred approach. His work includes spiritual assessment, grief support, values-based care, interdisciplinary collaboration, staff education, workshop facilitation, and mentorship.
At IEOLCA, Perry contributes expertise in the emotional, spiritual, existential, cultural, and relational dimensions of end-of-life care. He also helps review the curriculum for whole-person care, inclusion, clear scope, and practical relevance.
How We Teach and Serve
Presence, dignity, and care guide the learning.
IEOLCA's educational approach is grounded in compassion, autonomy, cultural humility, deep listening, clear scope, and ethical integrity. Students are encouraged to learn thoughtfully, reflect honestly, and develop practical ways to support others while honouring each person's values and choices.
Person-centred and non-medical
The doula role is taught as emotional, spiritual, practical, informational, and relational support that complements the work of medical and care teams.
Clear scope and ethical practice
Students build language and judgment for boundaries, informed choice, respectful communication, and responsible collaboration.
Reflective and practical
Personal integration is paired with real-world tools, templates, case reflection, and opportunities to apply learning with care.
Inclusive and accessible
Online, self-paced learning and accessible tuition options support students from varied backgrounds, cultures, communities, and locations.
Student Experiences
Grounded, Practical,
Grounded, Practical,
and Deeply Meaningful
Across student reflections, graduate feedback, and public reviews, learners consistently speak about the depth of the material, the usefulness of the practical tools, clearer understanding of scope and boundaries, and growing confidence in how they can support others.
Read Student Reviews
Quality in Practice
Four ways we support thoughtful education
01 Ongoing curriculum review
Programs are revisited as the field, research, and student needs evolve.
02 Student-informed improvement
Graduate feedback helps identify what is clear, useful, and ready to be strengthened.
03 Structured learner assessment
Reflection and applied assignments support meaningful demonstration of learning.
04 Clear documentation and scope
Program expectations, ethical boundaries, and assessment processes are documented with care.
Quality & Standards
Committed to Thoughtful,
Committed to Thoughtful,
Ongoing Growth
IEOLCA's programs continue to evolve through student feedback, developments in end-of-life care, emerging research, and ongoing reflection about what meaningful education should offer.
Quality means creating learning experiences that are clear, relevant, compassionate, reflective, and responsive to both students and the people they may one day serve. It also means being transparent about the non-medical doula role, maintaining appropriate scope, and continuing to strengthen the learning as IEOLCA grows.
Beyond the Classroom
A Growing Community of
A Growing Community of
Learning, Practice, and Conversation
IEOLCA's work extends beyond individual courses. We create pathways for learning, professional visibility, public conversation, and organizational education across the wider end-of-life care community.
IEOLCA Doula Directory
The directory helps individuals and families connect with trained doulas offering compassionate, non-medical support in person and virtually.
Search the directory →Death Doula Magazine
Published by IEOLCA, the magazine offers thoughtful stories, practical wisdom, and grounded perspectives on death, dying, grief, and care.
Read the magazine →Training for Organizations
IEOLCA works with hospices, care teams, community groups, and other organizations seeking flexible end-of-life education for staff and volunteers.
Explore organizational training →
Our Programs
Six Programs.
Six Programs.
Designed for Where You Are.
From foundational certification to focused areas of learning, each IEOLCA program supports meaningful reflection, practical understanding, growing confidence, and compassionate care.
Ready to Begin?
If You Feel Called,
If You Feel Called,
There Is a Place to Begin
Whether you are just beginning to explore the pull toward end-of-life work or looking to deepen a practice already underway, IEOLCA offers accessible, reflective, practical training designed to meet you where you are.