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NU7807 - Fundamentals of Palliative and End-of-Life Care (10 ECTS)

Learning Outcomes

Following completion of this module the student should be able to:

Unit 1:

  • Outline the philosophy, principles and practices of palliative care/specialist palliative care
  • Critically analyse the various levels, approaches and the application of palliative care philosophy to persons with life limiting illnesses and their family/significant others.
  • Explore the application of the palliative care competency framework in clinical practice
  • Appreciate the complexity of communication in palliative
  • Analyse the various theoretical perspectives of loss and grief, and death and dying.
  • Analyse the meaning & nature of suffering, total pain and total care in relation to the person with life limiting illness

Unit 2:

  • Appreciate the physiological changes of dying and their significance
  • Describe the possible symptom burden of a person and their carers at end-of-life
  • Explain the complexity of decision-making (including ethical decision-making), at end-of-life for the person, family/significant others and the multi-disciplinary team
  • Address common complex symptom assessment and management in end-of-life care
  • Explore and critically examine the relationship between the theory and practice of pain and symptom management in end-of-life care.
  • Explore the possible support required by the person at end-of-life and the care of the family/significant others pre and post demise.

Module Learning Aims & Rationale

This module addresses issues relating to understanding the concept of end-of-life in care delivery and the philosophy, principles and practice of palliative care. The module is underpinned by the palliative care competency framework (Education Framework for End-of-Life Care 2013), and the principles of palliative care in line with the WHO definition (2002); policy in Ireland (Department of Health & Children, 2001) and recent reports (Health Service Executive & Irish Hospice Foundation, 2008). This module explores understandings of end-of-life and how the utilisation of palliative care may support optimal planning and professional practice to enhance such care of adults in nursing and midwifery. Furthermore, this module will enable students to differentiate when a generalist or specialist palliative care intervention may benefit a person at end-of-life and his/her carers or significant others. The module will increase the students’ knowledge and skills in delivering best practice end-of-life care across different care settings.