Embedding cancer care within pre-registration nurse education programmes: Policy, practice and opportunities for change

Can Oncology Nursing Education Change the Attitude of Nursing Students toward Cancer (Cancer Stigma)? A Quasi-Experimental Study

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the effect of the oncology nursing internship education on the attitudes of students (stigma) toward cancer patients. The study was conducted in a faculty of nursing in İzmir, Turkey. Methods: The quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design was used in this study. The sample of the study was composed of totally 84 students, who attended the course of Oncology Nursing Internship (n:43) and the course of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Nursing Internship (n:41). The Student Information Form and Questionnaire for Measuring Attitudes Toward Cancer - Community Version were used as the data collection tool in the study. The students who were interns in oncology nursing received an education on oncology nursing including 280 hours of practice and 56 hours of theory and the other group had no education on the subject. In order to assess the efficiency of the education of oncology nursing internship on cancer attitude and to compare the groups, The Questionnaire for Measuring Attitudes Toward Cancer - Community Version was applied again to both groups at the end of the semester. Results: As a result of this study, it was found that the course of oncology nursing internship increased the positive attitudes of the students toward cancer patients (t=5.591, p=0.000). Conclusion: The education programs of oncology nursing should be integrated into the nursing curricula to provide that nursing students provide more effective care services for cancer patients and develop more positive attitudes.

Oncology teaching in undergraduate nursing at public institutions courses in Brazil

OBJECTIVES

to identify the occurrence of oncology teaching in undergraduate nursing curricula.

METHODS

descriptive study, which data was obtained from curriculum and from Pedagogical Course Projects available on the websites from Brazilian public institutions, between June and July 2020.

RESULTS

143 undergraduate nursing courses were identified. From them, 132 nursing courses (corresponding to 89 education institutions) had available the curriculum and/or Pedagogical Course Projects. Only 7 (5.3%) of them had oncology as a mandatory subject, 4 of them in the Midwest Region. Only 35 (26.5%) had elective subject in Oncology, most of them in the Northeast (45.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

on third of nursing courses at public institutions has Oncology subject in the curriculum, which is few considering the high incidence and mortality from cancer in the country. The findings contribute for discussions, in curricular accommodation, on the relevance of oncology teaching in nursing curricula.

Palliative and end-of-life care education in prelicensure nursing curricula: A nationwide survey in an Arab country

BACKGROUND

In the Arab and Islamic world, data on palliative and end-of-life (PEOL) care education are minimal.

OBJECTIVES

The current study's primary aim was to identify what PEOL care education is delivered to undergraduate nurses in Egypt and the teaching strategies used to deliver this education. A secondary aim was to assess the feasibility of using online surveys in nursing research in Egypt.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional survey.

SETTINGS

Ten randomly selected faculties of nursing across Egypt.

PARTICIPANTS

Nursing educators who were working at three academic departments; Medical-Surgical Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, and Gerontological Nursing; in the participating faculties.

METHODS

After face-to-face recruitment of participants, data were collected using an online questionnaire with an adjunctive use of paper questionnaires. The questionnaire assessed participants' and courses' characteristics, the inclusion of the PEOL Care Index content in the surveyed courses, and teaching strategies used to deliver this content.

RESULTS

A total of 95 nursing educators were involved in the current study (response rate = 86.4%). All participants were female, and 87.4% responded via online questionnaires. The overall coverage of the PEOL care content ranged from 76% to 100%. End-of-life care and spiritual care were the least frequently reported PEOL care topics; on average, by 19.6% and 36% of the educators, respectively. Lecture was the most frequently used teaching strategy, followed by clinical field practice (mean percentages of utilization: 77.7% and 53.6%, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

In Egypt, most PEOL care topics are covered in undergraduate nursing curricula. Yet, educating these topics is predominantly theoretical. End-of-life care and spiritual care are the least frequently covered PEOL care topics. Online surveys are feasible for multisite curricular assessment, and this feasibility may be augmented by face-to-face recruitment of participants and adjunctive use of paper questionnaires.

Altered nursing student perspectives: Impact of a pre-clinical observation experience at an outpatient oncology setting

This study examined the influence of an observation experience at an outpatient oncology setting on first-year nursing students. This experiential learning opportunity occurred prior to any formal clinical practice course. A hermeneutic phenomenology approach was used to uncover pre-licensure nursing students' perspectives about cancer, as well as their understanding of the roles and responsibilities of registered nurses in cancer care both before and following their experience. A total of 10 nursing students agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews following which data were analyzed and interpreted to understand the meaning in the experience. Two overarching themes were identified including circles of relationships, and the many sides of outpatient oncology. This study reveals that experiential learning in the form of a low-risk, observation-only experience may be an opportunity for pre-licensure students to gain new perspectives about cancer care and nurses roles in caring for individuals and families who are impacted by cancer.

Nursing Students' Perspectives on Assisting Cancer Patients

Objective:

The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of student nurses who have provided care to cancer patients.

Methods:

A mixed method approach consisting of semistructured focus groups (n = 61) and a survey questionnaire (n = 129) was used in the study. Student nurses were first interviewed, and then, a questionnaire was developed for them to answer. Following the content analysis, three themes and 19 subthemes were identified. Frequency and percent were used for qualitative data.

Results:

Among the student nurses, 80.6% reported that working with cancer patients was “difficult.” Difficulties experienced by the student nurses included patients rejecting their care, a large number of problems cases encountered when providing care to cancer patients, communication problems (38.0%), working with patients and attendants who fear death, and problems arising from family attendants who obstruct care. The majority of students experienced patients fearing death (28.7%) and felt feelings such as pity (71.1%), sadness (50.0%), and fear of cancer (41.9%) during their internships in oncology clinics.

Conclusions:

Students should be supported by instructors and oncology nurses, and nursing curricula should contain topics on how to best approach cancer patients.

Student Nurses Learning about Death, Dying, and Loss: Too Little, Too Late?

Concerns about the care provided to people dying from life-threatening illness have prompted a number of international reforms to improve the quality of palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care. The majority of this care is provided by nurses. They spend more time with dying patients than any other health professionals and therefore, need specific clinical skills and knowledge. Palliative and EOL care education is increasingly being positioned as a specialism, available only to a small number of registered nurses as part of continuing professional development. However, increasing numbers of patients with life-threatening illness are being treated in non-specialist settings by nurses with a generalist education. Furthermore, undergraduate nurse education has traditionally had a limited focus on palliative and EOL care, hence claims that undergraduate nursing curricula are inadequate. Drawing on an international literature, this review explores the evidence about the adequacy of undergraduate curricula in this area. It considers the extent to which palliative and EOL curriculum is included in undergraduate nurse education and draws upon evidence from students and registered nurses, who as consumers of education, report feeling unprepared to care for and communicate with, dying patients.

An Integrated Literature Review of Death Education in Pre-Registration Nursing Curricula: Key Themes

Recent policy has raised the profile of end-of-life care internationally, with the aim of increasing access to quality care for everyone experiencing life-limiting illness. This reflects an international shift in the provision of palliative care to encompass chronic conditions other than cancer. Nurses have an important role in delivering this care and need to be equipped with particular knowledge and skills. However, pre-registration nursing curricula have traditionally had a limited emphasis on death and dying and nurses report feeling unprepared to care for dying patients. This has led to claims that death education in pre-registration curricula is inadequate. This integrated review explores the published literature that reports on death education within pre-registration nurse education. Presenting an international overview, the aim of the review is to contribute to knowledge about the nature and extent of death education in pre-registration curricula. In the context of this paper, death education encompasses both palliative and end-of-life care. Electronic searches of major bibliographic databases found inconsistencies across educational provision with variations in quantity, content, and approach. Despite an increasing amount of death education in pre-registration curricula, there remains a deficit in key areas such as knowledge, skills, organisation of care, and teamwork.

Nursing student attitudes toward oncology nursing: an evidence-based literature review

Oncology education can impact nursing students' attitudes toward oncology and their interest in oncology nursing. To explore that relationship, a literature search was conducted using the CINAHL®, Cochrane Library, ERIC®, PubMed, and Scopus® databases. Nineteen pertinent studies were incorporated into the review, and recommendations were graded by strength of evidence schemas. The reviewed literature indicated undergraduate oncology education may be effective in encouraging nursing students to consider oncology as a practice area. Negative attitudes toward oncology such as fear and pessimism often are seen in students and practicing nurses. Educational interventions for students and nurses are effective in increasing knowledge and skills that are instrumental in fostering confidence and positive attitudes toward oncology nursing. All nursing students should have organized, mandatory clinical and didactic oncology nursing education experiences. Additional research is needed to support the effectiveness of educational strategies in influencing students' intent to practice oncology nursing. Innovative strategies including nontraditional clinical experiences, internships, fellowships, high-fidelity simulation, and postgraduate residencies are needed to provide adequate educational opportunities for nursing students to foster a strong and proficient oncology nursing workforce.