Palliative Nursing Commons^™

Nurses' Comfort Toward Caring For The Dying: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study, Candies Warren

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional descriptive research study was to explore nurses’ comfort levels toward caring for dying patients and what factors influence the bedside nurses’ comfort levels in providing end-of-life care in an acute care hospital setting. A convenience sample (N=63) of RNs voluntarily participated in an online survey from January 2025 to March 2025 that provided direct patient care. Data was collected through Question Pro. Data collected included sociodemographic questions, questions about current comfort level, factors that influence nurses’ comfort level, and selected items from the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Patient (FATCOD) scale. Institutional …

Education For Primary Care Providers On Advance Care Planning, Lindsey Ward

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) is a discussion of a patient’s end-of-life healthcare wishes. Its purpose is to indicate these wishes clearly should the patient be unable to make their decisions known to providers and family members due to a sudden health decline or medical emergency. Healthcare providers, specifically nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians in the primary care setting, are well-positioned to facilitate these conversations with their older adult patients. However, research states that limited provider knowledge of and confidence in implementing ACP are significant barriers to its application in practice.

Problem: At a primary care clinic in Midtown …

Palliative Care Integration Into Critical Care In People With Terminal Conditions, Arielle Westfall

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Palliative care is of value to the quality of life in people with terminal conditions when initiated early. The purpose of this literature review was to identify barriers to early initiation of palliative care consultation. The secondary purpose was to examine characteristics that prompt palliative care consultation. The TLC model of palliative care was used to explore palliative care in the critical care setting in people with terminal conditions. The concepts of the model support optimal palliative care as collaborative and comprehensive, with shared decisions made by the patient, practitioners, and loved ones. A literature review was conducted to identify …

Advance Care Planning: Best Practice Toolkit For Improving Access To Advance Care Planning Using Telehealth Visits, Jae Jackson

Student Scholarly Projects

Advance care planning (ACP) predominately occurs during a life-threatening crisis or during an inpatient admission. The primary care provider (PCP) is generally not the healthcare provider addressing ACP at the time of a crisis or during an inpatient admission. Being proactive in limiting ACP decisions with unfamiliar providers, uncomfortable environments, and increasing access to ACP discussions with PCPs are supportive reasons to utilize an ACP telehealth toolkit in primary care. Patients risk having ACP discussions with random providers, environments that don’t provide comfort when having such personal discussions, or not having the peaceful death they deserve without having an ACP …

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.

Advance Care Planning Education For Older Adults, Jamie E. Seaquist

Theses and Graduate Projects

Advanced care planning guides health care professionals and surrogate decision-makers choices on end of life (EOL) care when individuals are no longer able to speak for themselves. Advanced care plans can benefit patients in their last six months of life by improving their quality of life and by reducing family members anxiety, depression, and stress when dealing with EOL treatment options. Aside from these benefits, poor communication and knowledge deficits often create barriers when medical staff, families or patients try to broach the subject of EOL care. Barriers can be overcome when health care professionals facilitate advanced care planning conversations …