Document Type
Data
Department
College of Nursing
Description
There is a growing need to integrate Palliative Care in Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) curricula. Due to increasing costs in an already overstretched healthcare system, a large portion of primary care is delivered by FNPs, often to older or sicker patients. Therefore, it is imperative that FNPs receive formal educational and professional preparation regarding palliative care resources. One of the Core concepts presented by The American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Essentials: Core Concepts for Professional Nursing Education (2021) is palliative care, as are hospice and supportive care. Graduate Competencies and Recommendations for Educating nursing Students (G-CARES) further describe advanced-level student competency statements which can guide faculty in integrating palliative care education into their programs and assessing the alignment of programmatic outcomes with AACN's Essentials hospice/palliative/supportive care spheres of care. This pilot was conducted and reported to begin integration into The University of South Alabama’s Graduate FNP curriculum.
Aim: To integrate palliative care education into Family Nurse Practitioner Graduate Curriculums, thereby meeting the need for improved competency.
Purpose: The purpose of this informational study was to identify the educational impact of incorporating current palliative care guidelines and recommendations into a Family Nurse Practitioner curriculum. The goal of this educational intervention was to provide FNP Students with the most current information related to palliative care and to enhance their future clinical practices.
Objectives:
1. Collect data via completing an online pre-test survey to assess current levels of training, experience, and preparedness of newly entering FNP Students in the role of Palliative Care.
2. Provide a self-directed educational module in a Health Promotion/Disease Prevention course.
3. Evaluate Palliative Care education in FNP Students via completion of an online post-test survey.
Results: 223 students with an average of 8.6 years of nursing experience responded to the pre- and post-test surveys. 167 reported NO Palliative care experience. For the question “Have you ever had formal palliative care training?” 145 out of 223 (65.02%) reported YES and 78 (34.98%) reported NO. Of the 145 reporting YES, “Hospice training course work only” was the most frequent response, chosen by 57 (39.31%.) Of the 223 respondents to the post-test survey, 169 reported their graduate program had prepared them moderately to extremely well; this indicates that the palliative care education they received was beneficial.
Implications: The need for Palliative Care Training in a FNP Curriculum was demonstrated and a self-directed module was successful in increasing palliative care knowledge. There is a plan for ongoing integration throughout the curriculum.
Collection Date
3-2023
File Format
Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Worksheet (.xls)
Methodology
The Information Competency Assessment Instrument was completed by newly entering Master's FNP students in a Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Course to determine perceptions of their current levels of training, experience, and preparedness for palliative care.
Project Start Date - End Date
08/2021-05/2022
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lang, Betty; Montgomery, Susan; Moore, Ellen P.; and Townsend, Amanda, "Integrating Palliative Care in a Family Nurse Practitioner Curricula - Post Survey Data" (2023). MSN Project Data. 1.
https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/msn-data/1
Included in
Family Practice Nursing Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Palliative Care Commons, Palliative Nursing Commons