NHA/ELC – A Guide to Palliative Nursing Care at the End of Life (1.0 HR)

Purpose: 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.