August 1, 2023
IMPACT Healthcare System Scholar Zainab Toteh Osakwe, PhD, NP, RN is principal author on an article sharing the results of a hospice/palliative care survey in New York State. Hospice/palliative care nursing experts were asked to identify essential care work topics that should be integrated into undergraduate nursing education. For example, some respondents indicated a need to focus on non-acute care settings in clinical education. The survey provided considerations such as these for successful collaboration between nursing schools and hospice/palliative care clinical sites.
Abstract
With the current shortage of hospice/palliative care (HPC) workforce, there is an urgent need to train a generation of nurses with clinical competency in HPC to ensure equitable access and optimal care for patients living with serious illness or at the end of life. The recent demand for HPC teaching in nursing education calls for innovation in establishing clinical placements. Palliative care nursing experts in New York State were surveyed between June and August 2022 about facilitators of academic–clinical partnerships between nursing schools and clinical settings. Inductive content analysis of open-ended responses revealed six major interconnected themes: (a) Increase Awareness of HPC in the Nursing Program, (b) Build a Relationship With Administrators, (c) Look Beyond Acute Care Partnerships, (d) Offer Incentives, (e) Develop Direct Care Experiential Opportunities, and (f) Develop Non-Direct Care Experiential Opportunities. Findings provide rich insights into key considerations for successful collaboration between nursing schools and clinical sites.