Nurses' education and their experiences of caring for people who are dying and their families
Nurses' education and their experiences of caring for people who are dying and their families
The aim of this study was to explore student and trained nurses' experiences of caring for people who were dying and their families, with an emphasis placed on preparation for such care.
Using both quantitative and qualitative methods information covering nurse education, attitudes, experiences, support and coping was obtained from student (n=51) and trained nurses (n=53). An in-depth medium-term evaluation of a postbasic course, The Continuing Care of the Dying Patient and the Family (ENB 931), was undertaken using quantitative (n=53) and qualitative (n=12) methods. An extensive review of nurse preparation is presented.
The key finding was that many of the nurses wre inadequately prepared and lacked support when caring for the dying person and the family. It was found that the unsystematic approach to death education, first reported by Quint in 1967, appeared to have continued. Death education seemed to be given a low priority in the curriculum and integrated within other topics. Nurses reported less than 5 hours (mode) of formal instruction in the nursing school and a similar time on the wards. The evaluation of the ENB 931 showed how the course was differentially successful. Nurses with less experience of caring for the dying gained a great deal, while those with more experience within a specialist environment felt the level of the course was too basic. However, these nurses benefited from having time for reflection on their practice, and on their personal and professional experiences.
In an overall sense these nurses showed that caring for the dying could be very stressful, but it could also be experienced as most rewarding and satisfying. The extraneous stresses were often the ones that seemed to increase those inherent in professional practice per se.
It is argued that nurse preparation and support needs to be improved, although changes following the introduction of Project 2000 are unknown.
University of Southampton
1997
Morgan, Naomi Mary Ann
(1997)
Nurses' education and their experiences of caring for people who are dying and their families.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore student and trained nurses' experiences of caring for people who were dying and their families, with an emphasis placed on preparation for such care.
Using both quantitative and qualitative methods information covering nurse education, attitudes, experiences, support and coping was obtained from student (n=51) and trained nurses (n=53). An in-depth medium-term evaluation of a postbasic course, The Continuing Care of the Dying Patient and the Family (ENB 931), was undertaken using quantitative (n=53) and qualitative (n=12) methods. An extensive review of nurse preparation is presented.
The key finding was that many of the nurses wre inadequately prepared and lacked support when caring for the dying person and the family. It was found that the unsystematic approach to death education, first reported by Quint in 1967, appeared to have continued. Death education seemed to be given a low priority in the curriculum and integrated within other topics. Nurses reported less than 5 hours (mode) of formal instruction in the nursing school and a similar time on the wards. The evaluation of the ENB 931 showed how the course was differentially successful. Nurses with less experience of caring for the dying gained a great deal, while those with more experience within a specialist environment felt the level of the course was too basic. However, these nurses benefited from having time for reflection on their practice, and on their personal and professional experiences.
In an overall sense these nurses showed that caring for the dying could be very stressful, but it could also be experienced as most rewarding and satisfying. The extraneous stresses were often the ones that seemed to increase those inherent in professional practice per se.
It is argued that nurse preparation and support needs to be improved, although changes following the introduction of Project 2000 are unknown.
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Published date: 1997
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Local EPrints ID: 462960
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/462960
PURE UUID: 6095a119-e824-44e6-b967-b08dd5d6a730
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 20:31
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 20:31
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Author:
Naomi Mary Ann Morgan
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