Background The Respecting Choices (RC) advance care planning (ACP) model has three distinct stages of planning. One of those stages, Next Steps (NS), focuses on persons who are beginning to experience the effects of chronic, life-limiting illnesses. The overarching goal of NS planning is to identify an individual’s goals of care based on the progression of illnesses and treatment outcomes. NS involves three parties: the planner, the health care agent (HCA) chosen by the planner, and the ACP facilitator. Given when NS planning occurs, perspectival differences of the planner’s disease progression between the planner and the HCA result in phenomenological differences of the planner’s illness. These differences require finesse by the ACP facilitator to create viable advance care plans.

Aim This presentation has two aims: 1) explore what may account for the perspectival differences between NS planners and their HCAs, and 2) address how best to teach ACP facilitators the skills necessary to recognise and navigate phenomenological differences that can occur between NS planners and their HCAs.

Methods To meet these two aims, a comparison will be made between NS and ACP with relatively healthy persons and persons living with advanced chronic illness to identify the locus of the perspectival differences in NS planning between planners and their agents, and to contrast the differences in facilitator training.

Results N/A

Discussion N/A

Conclusion It will be shown that appreciation and successful navigation of the perspectival differences between planners and their HCAs during NS planning can be taught to facilitators via a mentoring model and detailed role playing during training.