Palliative care education in an Australian undergraduate pharmacy curriculum: an exploratory descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the self-perceived knowledge, confidence and preparedness of undergraduate pharmacy students to provide palliative care. METHODS: A descriptive exploratory analysis was conducted in 2021 at an Australian university involving final-year pharmacy students (n = 200) who were provided with the opportunity to complete a survey on self-perceived knowledge, confidence and preparedness overall and with respect to a range of graduate capabilities which are essential to provide care in palliative care settings. Key capability areas include: communication, showing empathy, making clinical judgements and self-reflection. This was measured using the Palliative Care Curriculum for Undergraduates Questionnaire which was distributed electronically. Descriptive statistics were undertaken and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to explore any differences in outcomes with respect to factors related to demographics, personal experience and education. Thematic analysis was utilised for qualitative data. KEY FINDINGS: Forty-five percent of the student cohort (n = 89) responded, 70% of whom were female, and the median age for students was 22 years. Median scores (interquartile range) were modest for overall self-perceived knowledge: 5.0 (3.0-5.0), confidence: 4.0 (3.0-5.0) and preparedness: 4.0 (2.5-5.0). Students who had participated in learning about palliative care through clinical placements (n = 25, 28%), self-directed learning activities (n = 18, 20%) or case-/problem-based learning (n = 14, 16%) demonstrated a statistically significant increase in overall preparedness (P = 0.017), confidence with specific capabilities including evidence-based practice (P = 0.013), responding to medication queries (P < 0.05) and managing symptoms other than pain (P = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest students were confident to manage symptoms and medication-related issues but less confident to address distress or discuss sensitive matters with patients and their families. There may be a need for greater exposure and practical experience in palliative care settings.

Current evidence of education and safety requirements for the nursing administration of chemotherapy: An integrative review.

PURPOSE: The administration of chemotherapy is a complex task which has many safety issues. Safe administration of chemotherapy by nurses should be evidence-based. The aim of this integrative review was to synthesise the evidence about education and practice requirements for safe administration of chemotherapy by nurses. METHOD: A systematic search of four databases identified 17 studies for inclusion in this review. Key words: Nurse, chemotherapy, cytotoxic drug, administration, safety, education. Data extracted from the studies included author, year, aims, design, sample, outcome measures and findings. After screening the articles, extracting study data and completing a summary table, critical appraisal of the studies was completed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). RESULTS: All the studies focused on strategies to promote patient and nurse safety during nursing administration of chemotherapy. Content analysis identified five themes: governance, process safeguards, communication, interdisciplinary collaboration and education. Key strategies or interventions that increased patient and/or nurse safety identified were standardised computer-generated chemotherapy orders, barcodes, medication safety procedures, education and simulated learning. CONCLUSIONS: This review found low-level evidence exists about the education and safety requirements for nursing administration of chemotherapy. High-level research is needed to assist healthcare services to select evidence-based educational and safety strategies and provide appropriately resourced work environments to support the safe nursing administration of chemotherapy and deliver the best possible patient outcomes.

PALLIATIVE CARE. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

Palliative care is delivered in almost all settings where healthcare is provided, including neonatal units, paediatric services, acute hospitals, general practices, community settings and aged care services. People who are dying have needs which require that nurses are able to deliver high quality evidence based and compassionate care no matter what their setting of practice.

THE NATIONAL CANCER NURSING EDUCATION PROJECT -- TEN YEARS ON.

The National Cancer Nursing Education Project (EdCaN) suite of resources support integration of a nationally consistent approach to cancer care education and professional development of nurses at all levels of practice in a range of settings.