Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Project

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Project Mentor

Bonnie Bowie

Readers

Greg Painter

Abstract

Background: Nurses often lack the knowledge of providing end of life (EOL) care and do not feel adequately prepared to confidently provide care. Identifying barriers to providing quality care could demonstrate improved symptom management for EOL patients and nursing confidence.

Aims: To identify knowledge gaps for oncology nurses working with EOL patients, develop nursing education, and ultimately improve patients’ symptom management.

Methods: This was a needs assessment of nurses (n=79) working in an inpatient oncology unit. A survey was distributed to obtain barriers in nursing knowledge and an educational module was created. A quality improvement study was then performed to compare symptom management pre and post educational intervention.

Findings: The average pain scores for EOL patients who were admitted post intervention were lower, though the difference was marginal.

Conclusion: Larger studies are recommended to evaluate the outcomes of providing EOL care education to specialty nurses and its effect on symptom management.

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