Honors Theses and Capstones

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Project Type

Senior Honors Thesis

College or School

CHHS

Department

Nursing

Program or Major

Nursing

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

First Advisor

Michele Lovell

Second Advisor

Alyssa O'Brien

Abstract

Providing physical, emotional, and spiritual care to patients at the end of life (EOL) can relieve their suffering and the pain experienced by loved ones in their presence. As death approaches, patients’ symptoms may require increased comfort measures, and it is imperative that all nurses be properly trained and prepared to provide this care. In this quality improvement (QI) project, the End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey (EPCS) and demographic and experiential questions were administered in the form of a Qualtrics survey to nurses working on an acute care inpatient unit at a healthcare organization in New England. 18 survey responses were collected. Data was analyzed to determine if nurses have educational needs related to the end-of-life care (EOLC) domains reflected in the survey and if those needs correlate with the demographic and experiential questions. It was found that education related to assisted suicide, grief counseling, family conflicts, and cultural factors is most necessary. New graduate nurses and experienced nurses who are new to the unit need the most education. This feedback was provided to the unit staff so educational interventions can be tailored to meet the needs of these nurses and better serve this patient population.

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