Competent and appropriate care at the end of life is dismal in the United States. It has not been included in health care focus or professional education. It is time for nurses to change this with the adoption of end of life nursing competencies. The competencies should relate to palliative care philosophy, be comprehensive and measurable, and have a plan for implementation. Facets of implementing competency assessment include time frames, educational activities, evaluation plan, and use of documentation tools.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (1997). A peaceful death (Report from the Robert Wood Johnson End-of-Life Roundtable). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Burke, A. (2000). How to accomplish organization-wide competency and education. Nursing Management, 31(2), 20-26.
3.
Connor, S. R. (1998). Hospice practice, pitfalls, and promise. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
4.
Ferrell, B. R., Virani, R., & Grant, M. (1999). Analysis of end-of-life content in nursing textbooks. Oncology Nursing Forum, 26(5), 869-876.
5.
Field, M. J., & Cassel, C. K. (Eds.). (1997). Approaching death: Improving care at the end of life. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
6.
Good, V. S., & Schulman, C. S. (2000). Employee competency pathways. Critical Care Nurse, 20(3), 75-85.
7.
Hospice update. (2000). Part 1: Competency assessment; framework for excellence. Home Care Hospice Update, 7(8), 8.
8.
Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. (2001). Professional competencies for generalist hospice and palliative nurses. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
9.
Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. (1999). Hospice interdisciplinary clinical competencies. Largo, FL: Hospice Institute of the Florida Suncoast.
10.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (1996). Comprehensive accreditation manual for hospitals. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: Author.
11.
Last Acts Task Force on Palliative Care. (1997). Precepts of palliative care. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
12.
Matzo, M. P., & Sheeman, D. W. (2001). Palliative care nursing: Quality care to the end of life. New York: Springer.
13.
McConnell, E. A. (2001). Competence vs. competency. Nursing Management, 32(5), 14.
14.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Standards and Accreditation Committee. (1997). A pathway for patients and families facing terminal illness. Alexandria, VA: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
15.
Rabow, M. W., McPhee, S. J., Fair, J. M., & Hardie, G. E. (1999). A failing grade for end-of-life content in textbooks: What is to be done? Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2(2), 153-155.
16.
Smith, S. A. (2000). Hospice concepts: A guide to palliative care in terminal illness. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
17.
SUPPORT Principal Investigators. (1995). A controlled trial to improve care for seriously ill hospitalized patients. Journal of the American Medical Association, 274, 1591-1598.
18.
White, K. R., Coyne, P. J., & Patel, U. B. (2001). Are nurses adequately prepared for end-of-life care? Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 33(2), 147-151.
