Pediatric End-of-life Simulation: Preparing the Future Nurse to Care for the Needs of the Child and Family
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
1-2019
Abstract
Purpose
Preparing a future nurse to respond to the complex and sensitive needs of a child and family during the end-of-life requires more than didactic content in a classroom. During clinical experiences, students may care for children diagnosed with a terminal illness however; it is less likely that a student will have a clinical opportunity to care for a child and their family at the end-of-life. Without having an experience, it is challenging to teach students how to care for the dying child and family including how to appreciate the emotions, thoughts, and expectations when faced with a pediatric death (Lindsay, 2010).
Design and Methods
The instructional model integrates an end-of-life simulation into an undergraduate pediatric nursing course allowing students to practice caring for a child and their family while developing an understanding of the unique needs of a dying pediatric patient.
Results
Post simulation, students participating in guided reflection, identified several themes impacting their experience with end-of-life care, including symptom management, emotional care and “what to say”.
Conclusions
The structured simulated experience provided knowledge, skill and awareness to the role of the nurse when providing care at the end-of-life.
Practice Implications
Nurses' behaviors and responses when caring for a child can have a significant impact on the family's experience and memory of their child's death. Unintended actions may result in the family experiencing negative impressions, causing further distress to the grieving family (Butler, Hall, Willetts, & Copnell, 2015).
DOI
10.1016/j.pedn.2018.09.005
PMID
30266527
Recommended Citation
Cole, M. A., & Foito, K. (2019). Pediatric end-of-life simulation: Preparing the future nurse to care for the needs of the child and family. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 44, e9-e12 doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2018.09.005
Publication
Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Volume
44
Publisher
Elsevier
Pages
e9-e12
Comments
Acknowledgements: Sacred Heart University, Academics for Creative Teaching (ACT) 2017: funding Acquisition. Leonard Comeau, MD contributed resources to the development of the simulated experience.