A Qualitative Study to Evaluate an End-of-LIfe Nursing Course

Hold, Judith L.

Background: Nurses are crucial for attending to patient and family needs throughout the dying process. Many obstacles hinder a patient’s wishes about dying, including how nurses perceive their role in end-of-life care situations and knowing how to intervene on behalf of the patient. Therefore, nursing education needs to create meaningful, relevant learning experiences to enable future nurses to effectively care for the dying.

Objective: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore nursing students’ experiences, perceptions, and attitudes about the integration of three professional apprenticeships (cognitive, practical, and ethical comportment) within a newly developed Palliative and End-of-Life course.

Method: At the end of the semester long course, researchers conducted a focus group interview with 10 nursing students who completed the course. Structured questions about the course content were developed and guided the group interview. The group interview was taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: The Palliative and End-of-Life course provided students the opportunity to experience three professional apprenticeships while learning how to care for dying patients. Themes related to the cognitive apprenticeship included acquiring and integrating knowledge, which was addressed through lectures given by expert professionals. As a result of service learning, practical apprenticeship themes included therapeutic communication and symptom management. The ethical comportment themes pertained to family involvement, personal comfort level, and emotional aspects of caring. This apprenticeship was realized through writing reflective journals, enduring ideas, and funeral plans. Overall, nursing students perceived that their conﬁdence, comfort, and skill in caring for dying patients was enhanced.

Conclusion: Our ﬁndings indicate that students successfully integrated the professional apprenticeships into their learning experience about caring for dying patients and their families. The qualitative evaluation provides valuable insight and information that can be used to improve nursing education based on professional apprenticeships.