Evaluation of an Innovative Curriculum Enhancement: The Conversation Project.

Two northeast nursing schools piloted an innovative curriculum to teach The Conversation Project (TCP) to the next generation of nurses. The goal was to educate 26 graduate nursing students about how to have end-of-life and advance care planning conversations with people before they experience a crisis. The focus of assignments was on communicating newly learned TCP information. Postreflections demonstrated that participants felt their communication skills had been enhanced while their anxieties were reduced. The students' abilities to have end-of-life conversations increased.

End-of-life nursing education: Enhancing nurse knowledge and attitudes.

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of a palliative and end-of-life care nursing education program on nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward caring for patients with advanced serious illness or nearing death. BACKGROUND: It is projected that 9 million Americans will be over 85 years old, in the year 2030; many will be living with disabilities and serious medical conditions. Expanding access to palliative care resources and knowledgeable providers is essential for meeting the future demands required by the aging population. METHODS: A quasi-experimental research design with pre-test and post-test measures was utilized. Potential sample included 134 nurses who participated in a 6-week, 12-hour End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Core Curriculum© educational program. Changes in knowledge were measured using The Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN) (n = 61), while changes in attitudes in caring for dying patients were measured using the Thanatophobia Scale (TS) (n = 57). RESULTS: Results suggest that while post-test PCQN knowledge scores increased significantly (t = -7.498; p = .000), practicing nurses were somewhat lacking in EOL care knowledge answering 13/20 questions correctly before, and 15/20 questions correctly after the educational intervention. Results also indicated that the sample had positive attitudes in caring for this patient population initially, but that attitudes improved significantly post-intervention (t = 3.944; p = .000). CONCLUSIONS: Results support the use of the ELNEC© curriculum for EOL education among this sample, suggesting that educating practicing nurses about EOL is an effective mechanism for both increasing knowledge and improving attitudes. Results also suggest that more education is warranted.

Preparing for the Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Youth.

The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have long-term and global effects that the vaccine may not ease. Children and adolescents endured unprecedented periods of loneliness, social isolation, financial stressors, in-home conflicts, changes in living circumstances, and variable access to healthcare, resulting in increased mental health sequelae. Timely recognition of students' anxiety, depression, and disruptive behaviors will allow appropriate interventions to de-escalate these feelings and prevent suicidal ideations and attempts. As youth return to school, their mental health needs will not subside. School nurses and the multidisciplinary team have a vital role in impacting this population's already surging increase of mental and behavioral health disorders.

Impact of an Evidence-Based Pediatric Palliative Care Program on Nurses' Self-Efficacy.

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 1-day evidence-based pediatric palliative care continuing professional development program on nurses' and advanced practice registered nurses' perceived self-efficacy regarding palliative care. Method The revised Pediatric Palliative Care Questionnaire was administered to participants before and after a 7½-hour program. A multimodal approach was used to teach topics specific to pediatric palliative care. Results Thirty-one participants completed questionnaires. Notably, most of the participants had provided palliative or end-of-life care, but few had previous education specific to pediatrics. The self-efficacy scores of the participants significantly increased after program attendance (Z = 3.53, p < .001). Conclusion Continuing professional development in pediatric palliative care improves nurses' and advanced practice registered nurses' confidence in their skills to provide this care. Findings of this study support the need for pediatric-specific education in nursing training programs and continuing professional development offerings. Continuing education may be the key to improving access to high-quality care for children living with serious illness and their families. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(6):264-272.].

The effect of an educational session on pediatric nurses' perspectives toward providing spiritual care.

This study evaluated the effect of a spiritual education session on pediatric nurses' perspectives toward providing spiritual care. A one-group pretest and posttest design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational session. Participants consisted of 41 pediatric and neonatal nurses that worked in a large university-affiliated children's hospital. Findings confirmed that the spiritual education session had a positive effect on nurses' perspectives toward providing spiritual care. In addition, a positive correlation was identified between the pediatric nurses' perception of their own spirituality and their perspective toward providing care.

Describing clinical faculty experiences with patient safety and quality care in acute care settings: A mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: A major safety initiative in acute care settings across the United States has been to transform hospitals into High Reliability Organizations. The initiative requires developing cognitive awareness, best practices, and infrastructure so that all healthcare providers including clinical faculty are accountable to deliver quality and safe care. OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience of baccalaureate clinical nursing faculty concerning safety and near miss events, in acute care hospital settings. METHODS: A mixed method approach was used to conduct the pilot study. Nurse faculty (n=18) completed study surveys from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to track patient safety concerns: Incidents; Near misses; or Unsafe conditions, during one academic semester, within 9 different acute care hospitals. Additionally, seven nurse faculty participated in end of the semester focus groups to discuss the semester long experience. RESULTS: Clinical faculty identified a total of 24 patient occurrences: 15 Incidents, 1 Near miss event, and 8 Unsafe conditions. Focus group participants (n=7) described benefits and challenges experienced by nursing clinical faculty and students in relation to the culture of safety in acute care hospital settings. Six themes resulted from the content analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Utilizing nursing clinical faculty and students may add significant value to promoting patient safety and the delivery of quality care, within acute care hospital settings.

Effectiveness of a perinatal and pediatric End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curricula integration.

BACKGROUND: Educational practices and national guidelines for best practices of providing palliative care to children and their families have been developed and are gaining support; however, the dissemination of those practices lags behind expectations. Incorporating education for pediatric palliative care into nursing pre-licensure programs will provide guidelines for best practices with opportunities to enact them prior to graduation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of an integrated curriculum for palliative care on nursing students' knowledge. DESIGN: Matched pretest-posttest. SETTING: One private and one public university in the northeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS: Two groups of baccalaureate nursing students, one exposed to an integrated curriculum for palliative care and one without the same exposure. METHODS: Pre-testing of the students with a 50-item multiple choice instrument prior to curriculum integration and post-testing with the same instrument at the end of the term. RESULTS: This analysis demonstrated changes in knowledge scores among the experimental (n=40) and control (n=19) groups that were statistically significant by time (Wilks' Lambda=.90, F(1, 57)=6.70, p=.012) and study group (Wilks' Lambda=.83, F(1, 57)=11.79, p=.001). CONCLUSIONS: An integrated curriculum for pediatric and perinatal palliative and end-of-life care can demonstrate an increased knowledge in a small convenience sample of pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing students when compared to a control group not exposed to the same curriculum. Future research can examine the effect on graduates' satisfaction with program preparation for this specialty area; the role of the use of the curriculum with practice-partners to strengthen transfer of knowledge to the clinical environment; and the use of this curriculum interprofessionally.

Understanding pediatric palliative care: what it is and what it should be.

Advancing pediatric palliative care is desperately needed to support the physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of children and families who live with life-threatening illnesses. Although educational resources and standards of practice related to this topic have been developed, dissemination and implementation of programs have been slow to progress. The purpose of this case study is to present the lived experiences of an adolescent with leukemia and his family to illustrate how health care providers may benefit from receiving enhanced palliative and end-of-life care education.

The needs of siblings of children with cancer: a nursing perspective.

Findings from research studies on the needs of siblings of children with cancer have highlighted the imperative that these siblings be supported and involved in the plan of care when a diagnosis of cancer is made. However, few studies have included the perspective of the nurse when evaluating sibling needs or identifying interventions used to meet the needs. This qualitative descriptive study used a combination of individual interviews and a focus group to capture perspectives from 13 pediatric oncology nurses employed at a leading Children's Hospital located in the northeast. Transcripts were analyzed for content and theme in relation to the 2 research questions. Needs identified included getting attention, wanting to know, having fears/worries, feeling at fault, wanting to help, and wanting a normal routine, whereas interventions identified included recognizing their needs, getting siblings involved, sharing appropriate information, being a resource, giving support, and bending the rules. Findings support previous studies that document the variety of needs experienced by siblings of children with cancer and offer examples of nursing interventions to meet these needs.

Emotional intelligence and nursing performance among nursing students.

Some scholars have proposed that the educational preparation of nurses can be improved by incorporating emotional intelligence lessons into the nursing curricula. However, the relationship between emotional intelligence and nursing performance in nursing students is unknown. The purpose of the study was to examine this relationship among nursing students. A descriptive correlational design with non-probability sampling methods of 87 nursing students in a university setting was conducted. The variables of focus were emotional intelligence and nursing performance. Emotional intelligence was measured with the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). Nursing performance was measured using the Six Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (6-D Scale). The sample was predominately Caucasian (91%), female (93%), mean age 24 years. The mean score for emotional intelligence was 0.53, SD ± 0.06 indicating moderate emotional intelligence. The mean score for nursing performance was 3.14, SD ± 0.40 indicating moderate nursing performance. Emotional intelligence was related to nursing performance. Four of the six nursing performance subscale scores were significantly correlated with the total emotional intelligence scores. Implications for nursing education and clinical practice are discussed.