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More on End-of-Life Issues Taught at
Nursing Schools
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| During a special session on palliative care at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology's (ASCO's) 38th annual meeting, Betty R. Ferrell, RN,
PhD, professor of Nursing Research and Education at City of Hope Cancer
Center, discussed the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium that she
established along with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and
others in 2000. This consortium seeks to improve nursing care at the end
of life.
The nursing education effort, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, is based on recommendations by the National Cancer Policy
Board, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. It
involves giving cancer centers and nursing schools the training necessary
to improve quality of life for dying patients. Almost 1,000 educators thus
far have been educated in nine core curriculum areas:
 | nursing care; |
| pain management; |
| symptom management; |
| ethical/legal issues; |
| cultural considerations; |
| communication; |
| grief, |
| loss and bereavement; |
| preparation and care for the time of death; and |
| achieving quality care. |
More educational areas are being investigated to be implemented in more
nursing schools. Beginning next month, the City of Hope's Nursing Research
and Education Department will begin training courses for interdisciplinary
teams from leading cancer centers to give further guidance in end-of-life
care to physicians, nurses, social workers, and others. Using funding from
the National Cancer Institute, the program, named Disseminating
End-of-Life Education to Cancer Centers (DELEtCC), will prepare healthcare
professions with the information and resources to assure high-quality
end-of-life care for cancer patients. Organizers hope that the program
will impact 300 cancer centers during four national conferences held
during the next 4 years.
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