Lorenza Garrino1, Claudia Contratto2, Patrizia Massariello3, Valerio Dimonte1. 1. 1 Department of Public Health and Paediatrics, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. 2. 2 Corso di Laurea in Infermieristica, A.S.L. "Città di Torino," Turin, Italy. 3. 3 City Hospital Health and Science of the City of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The literature from recent decades persistently suggests that nurses are not adequately trained in caring for the dying. Numerous studies call for enhanced education in end-of-life care. OBJECTIVE: To explore student nurses' experience of caring for dying persons and their families and how this experience was influenced by their undergraduate education, with a view to improving end-of-life training. METHODS: Narrative interviews were administered to a purposive sample of 18 undergraduate students at Turin University's School of Nursing and analyzed following Giorgi's qualitative phenomenological methodology. RESULTS: The students' accounts featured 4 main themes: emotions and feelings, reactions and coping strategies, growth in personal and professional awareness, and the professional nursing model. Students reporting positive experience of end-of-life care in clinical settings displayed the expected learning outcomes for undergraduate nursing education. CONCLUSION: This study's strength lies in the fact that it draws on student nurses' lived experience to assess training in end-of-life care. It confirms the need to invest in targeted end-of-life education and support for nursing students.
BACKGROUND: The literature from recent decades persistently suggests that nurses are not adequately trained in caring for the dying. Numerous studies call for enhanced education in end-of-life care. OBJECTIVE: To explore student nurses' experience of caring for dying persons and their families and how this experience was influenced by their undergraduate education, with a view to improving end-of-life training. METHODS: Narrative interviews were administered to a purposive sample of 18 undergraduate students at Turin University's School of Nursing and analyzed following Giorgi's qualitative phenomenological methodology. RESULTS: The students' accounts featured 4 main themes: emotions and feelings, reactions and coping strategies, growth in personal and professional awareness, and the professional nursing model. Students reporting positive experience of end-of-life care in clinical settings displayed the expected learning outcomes for undergraduate nursing education. CONCLUSION: This study's strength lies in the fact that it draws on student nurses' lived experience to assess training in end-of-life care. It confirms the need to invest in targeted end-of-life education and support for nursing students.
Entities:
Keywords:
clinical setting; death and dying; nursing students; phenomenological research