NUR123 - A Guide to Palliative Nursing Care at End-of-Life (2.5 HR)

The purpose of this course is to develop a guide for nurses in the understanding and delivery of compassionate nursing care at end-of-life. Objectives: 1. Summarize historical and current end-of-life care within the United States. 2. Define the concepts of “palliative” and “end-of-life” care based on the most recent Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, Third Edition, (2013). 3. Explain the economic challenges of palliative end-of-life care from an ethical and political position. 4. Discuss the essential elements of the Standards of Care in Palliative End-of-Life Nursing Practice based on the Scope and Standards of Hospice and Palliative Nursing Practice, 2002. 5. Discuss the essential elements of the Standards of Professional Performance in Palliative End-of-Life Professional Nursing Practice based on the Scope and Standards of Hospice and Palliative Nursing Practice, 2002. 6. Discuss the Eight Domains of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for quality palliative end-of-life care based on the work of the task force for the National Consensus Project, 2013. 7. Describe how to support individuals and their families in developing informed decision making processes consistent with their unique beliefs and values. 8. Discuss evidence-based recommendations on nursing’s best practices for end-of-life care during the last days and hours of life and the associated quality indicators. Identify the signs and symptoms of active/imminent death and associated care. 9. Describe the meaning of the Pearls of Professional Practice as a critical part of self-care for the nurse in the physical, psychological, social and spiritual domains.