Integration of end-of-life care content in undergraduate nursing curricula: student knowledge and perceptions

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Abstract

Studies indicate that nurses spend more time with patients at the end of life than any other health care discipline (K. M. Foley & H. Gelband, 2003). So it is imperative that nurses be educated so they can provide this high-quality end-of-life care. The purpose of this project was to provide a current state of end-of-life nursing education in the literature and to report on end-of-life knowledge and experiences of two groups ofnursing students in one small, liberal arts university. A total of 111 undergraduate students (61 sophomores and 50 seniors) were administered a 50-item, multiple-choice test to determine their baseline knowledge about end-of-life care. Sophomore scores ranged from 20% to 86% with a mean of 60.98 (SD = 11.83). Senior pretest scores ranged from 70% to 96% with a mean of 83.26 (SD = 6.6). An independent samples t test was conducted to determine if there was a difference in group mean knowledge between sophomore and senior students. Levene's test for equality of variance was significant (F = 4.22, P < .05); thus, a t test with equal variance assumed revealed a significant difference between sophomore and senior group means (t = −10.44, P < .001). The review of literature and student knowledge and experience assessment resulted in the development of a model of end-of-life curriculum integration implemented at the university and sets the stage for future program evaluation studies.

Comments

Copyright 2009 Elsevier

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Publication Title

Journal of Professional Nursing

Published Citation

Wallace, M., Grossman, S., Campbell, S., Robert, T., Lange, J., & Shea, J. (2009). Integration of end-of-life care content in undergraduate nursing curricula: student knowledge and perceptions. Journal of Professional Nursing, 25(1), 50-56. doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2008.08.003.

DOI

10.1016/j.profnurs.2008.08.003

Peer Reviewed

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