Palliative Nursing Commons^™

Improving Spiritual Care Competency Among Intensive Care Unit Nurses: Promoting Holistic Patient Care Towards End-Of-Life, Joanne Nguyen, Dana Bagis

Nursing | Senior Theses

Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses play a crucial role in providing physiological stabilizing care in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, often marked by constant changes and variability in complex patients. Despite their specialization, the aspect of spiritual care tends to be overlooked, particularly in the context of end-of-life care. This is significant because previous studies have shown that a lack of spiritual care leads to poorer health outcomes, decreased coping, increased depression, and diminished quality of life for patients. This research proposal aims to investigate the spiritual care competency among ICU nurses who partake in spiritual care-based training, with the …

Discordant Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation At An Academic Midwest Medical Center- Prevalence And Solutions, Jeremy Payne, Anne Skinner, David Gannon, Jenenne A. Geske

Graduate Medical Education Research Journal

Background: Code status orders are important features of patient-centered clinical decisions, patient autonomy, and end-of-life care. Despite proper documentation of “do not resuscitate” (DNR) code status, hospitalized patients may be subjected to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts that go against their wishes.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify and describe the population of hospitalized patients receiving discordant resuscitation efforts at a Midwest academic medical center utilizing electronic health records (EHR).

Method: The study included EHR records between 01/01/2011 and 01/01/2021 for hospitalized patients 19 years and older who experienced cardiac arrest (ICD-10 I46) and were documented as DNR. …

About Dying And Death: Thanatology's Place In Medical Curriculum, Jill Dombroski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored how healthcare providers engage in advance care planning and end-of-life care conversations. The research explored what shapes their understanding and the extent to which concepts from thanatology they intuitively bring in, explicitly bring in, and maybe fail to recognize. To achieve this, constructivist grounded theory (CGT) methodology guided the design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the findings, which allowed for iteration across interviews and analysis with existing theories and data in the literature. The CGT design encouraged further engagement with the literature in an ongoing iterative fashion as well as with the analysis of the data. …

Nursing Education In Complementary Alternative Modalities: A Case Study, Deborah Bird

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this embedded case study was to describe the preparation for and utilization of complimentary alternative modality (CAM) interventions by an experienced Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) prepared nurse practitioner (NP) working in an outpatient setting.

Background: Given the widespread use of CAM by the American public and the potential complications involved in combining CAM and standard medical care, a lack of educational preparation in CAM interventions by NPs delivering primary care in outpatient health care settings represents both a potential risk and a missed opportunity to provide holistic patient care. Such a lack of knowledge also …

Bibliography, Mary P. Bennett

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Bibliography of publications by Mary Bennett.

Improving Spiritual Care Competency Among Intensive Care Unit Nurses: Promoting Holistic Patient Care Towards End-Of-Life, Joanne Nguyen, Dana Bagis

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses play a crucial role in providing physiological stabilizing care in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, often marked by constant changes and variability in complex patients. Despite their specialization, the aspect of spiritual care tends to be overlooked, particularly in the context of end-of-life care. This is significant because previous studies have shown that a lack of spiritual care leads to poorer health outcomes, decreased coping, increased depression, and diminished quality of life for patients. This research proposal aims to investigate the spiritual care competency among ICU nurses who partake in spiritual care based training, with …

Utilizing Podcast Education To Improve Nurse Knowledge, Confidence, And Behaviors Related To Palliative Care Conversations In The Intensive Care Unit, Brittany Estridge

DNP Projects

Background: The personal connection that Registered Nurses (RNs) build with patients and their families puts them at the forefront of many conversations during the patient’s stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). Some of the most difficult conversations are related to palliative care (PC). It can be challenging to know how to respond to the complex questions posed in palliative care conversations (PCC) when patients and their caregivers are making decisions that will alter the course of the patient’s treatment, as well as affect the quality and length of their life.

Purpose: Nurses receive inadequate training in PCC. The purpose …

Pediatric Palliative Care Training To Advance Nurses’ Knowledge And Increase Patient Referrals, Whitney Lynn Stone, Lisa Merritt, Tammy Childers

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Objective: The purpose of this evidence-based practice quality improvement project was to implement an educational intervention to improve pediatric palliative care services in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The goal was to improve nurses’ knowledge of palliative care and increase the number of palliative care consults.

Methods: Educational sessions were created using the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Pediatric Curriculum. Participants included 46 PICU nurses. Knowledge of palliative care was measured at three timepoints; pre-, immediately post- and four weeks post-intervention. The number of palliative care referrals were measured at two timepoints; three months pre- and three months post-intervention. …

Early Integration Of Palliative Care With Curative Oncology Treatment For Patients With Advanced Cancer: Implications For Clinical Nursing Practice, Rhea Rughani

Honors Projects

Palliative care, though clinically established to improve health-related quality of life measures for patients with advanced illness, remains underutilized and largely limited to end of life care. This project aims to inform oncology nursing practice through the analysis of literature supporting the early integration of palliative care with standard curative oncology treatment for patients with clinically advanced cancer. Informed by relevant research, clinical practice guidelines, and improved specialty palliative care training, oncology nurses and nurse practitioners are ideally situated to advocate for and initiate early palliative care integration, to holistically improve the standard approach to complex cancer care.

Improving Palliative Care Education In The Acute Hospital Setting, Maria Klug

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

As the geriatric population grows rapidly, the importance of utilizing and understanding palliative services continues to rise. Although palliative and hospice care are included in different healthcare courses, misconceptions and lack of knowledge continue to serve as barriers to the utilization of palliative care. The purpose was to assess knowledge, improve palliative care education, and increase understanding of the perspectives of the interdisciplinary team involved in acute patient care. The setting was the telemetry unit in a 300-bed acute care Kansas hospital. A mixed design was utilized with a goal of quality improvement in the use of palliative care. The …

Alzheimer's And Patient Caregiver Burnout: A Review Of The Literature, Madeline Hekeler

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The term “silent epidemic” is fitting for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as its negative impact is widely felt but rarely discussed. Burnout among AD caregivers has become an epidemic of its own as caregivers experience an increase in health risks, stress, and financial burden. This literature review focuses on caregiver burnout and how imperative it is that caregivers are better supported in their role. Researchers have developed instruments to assess and intervene in caregiver burnout that have shown effectiveness among caregivers and their families.Nevertheless, further longitudinal research is warranted regarding more effective interventions, including stress management and social support mechanisms.

Exploring Palliative Care Education Needs And Desires Of Advanced Practice Providers In The Critical Care Setting, Jill Marie Clemmons

DNP Projects

Background: Critical care providers in the ICU setting are discovering that their patients are living longer with more comorbid conditions. They are confronted with palliative care situations almost daily. Recently palliative care has been thrust into the forefront of critical care and is a resource critical care nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants need to be able to utilize. A gap in the literature has been found in the overall education of critical care providers regarding palliative care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine what palliative care training trauma/cardiac/neurological, and pulmonary critical care providers had previously received …

Get America Talking: Implementing Advanced Care Planning In Primary Care, Sasha Recht

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Advanced Care Planning (ACP) is an essential part of providing adequate care in the primary care setting. Discussing end of life with patients can be a tedious and uncomfortable conversation for many providers, however, its continued avoidance contributes to the stigma of end of life care and may also result in significant healthcare cost expenditure with the use of unwanted invasive treatments. All providers should engage in consistent advanced care planning in order to improve patient and provider communication, improve patient satisfaction, increase advanced directives on file, reduce the stigma of the topic, and improve quality of life.

Standardized Education On Physician Orders For Life Sustaining Treatment (Polst) Conversations, Venessa Oteniya

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

According to research literature, 15% of Medicare beneficiaries spend more than 7 days in the intensive care unit before they die. These Medicare beneficiaries receive aggressive, life-prolonging medical treatments that might not be in agreement with their wishes. Approximately 13% of SNF residents have improperly completed POLST forms that can result in intensive treatments that patients did not want. One barrier to the lack of POLST completion in SNFs is staff difficulty with understanding and explaining the form, a result of inadequate education.

In August 2020, the San Diego Coalition for Compassionate Care formed an education program to provide virtual …

Achieving Advance Care Planning In Diverse Populations Via Teleconferencing With Skilled Nursing Facility Residents, Tania Huezo

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) has always been a priority in healthcare, and even more crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been extremely challenging for ACP to occur in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) population once social distancing restrictions were put in place to protect residents and staff.

Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based project was to assess the effectiveness of ACP via teleconferencing with skilled nursing facility (SNF) residents in the hope of increasing completion of high-quality Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms.

Methods: The San Diego Coalition for Compassionate Care developed an ACP community outreach program …

Promotion Of Most Forms Through Education About Importance Of Advance Care Planning In Seriously Ill Patients, Nidhi More

DNP Projects

Abstract

Purpose: To establish the importance of early Advance Care Planning (ACP) and improve the utilization of Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) forms in seriously ill patients by educating providers and nurses to identify patients who meet specified criteria. The goals of this intervention are reduction of readmissions and better quality of life for this patient population.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used for evaluation of an Educational intervention to promote MOST forms, Advance Directives (AD) and Palliative Care (PC) consults. A retrospective and prospective chart review was conducted to determine the number of patients who met criteria …