Palliative Care Education and Serious Illness Communication Training for Baccalaureate Nursing Students.

Abstract

Palliative care is an essential component of community health for a growing population of seriously ill older adults residing in the community. Yet, nursing students are often challenged in initiating and engaging in serious illness conversations. This study implemented and evaluated an educational activity designed to increase nursing students' skills and self-efficacy to initiate and conduct conversations with patients/clients experiencing serious illness. A mixed-methods approach was used to study how statement cards and prompts facilitated students' readiness to engage in such conversations. A quantitative pre- and posttest survey was used to evaluate self-efficacy and students' perception of their ability to engage in challenging conversations. The results indicated a significant increase in student confidence in conducting serious illness conversations. Students reported an improved perception of their ability to conduct serious illness conversations and emphasized the need to practice these conversations in clinical practice.