Two from School of Nursing Attend End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium

Nurses spend more time with patients who are facing the end of life than any other member of the health care team. Yet, studies have shown that many nurses feel inadequately prepared to provide the comprehensive care so important at that time.

Kimberly Balko and Lynn McNall, of the Empire State College School of Nursing, recently attended a national ELNEC (End-of-Life Nursing Consortium) two-day training on end-of-life care, in Peachtree City, Ga. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing and City of Hope had originally received a 3 1/2-year grant (2000-2003), from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to develop and help implement an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium for nurses who provide/conduct continuing education courses in specialty areas, such as oncology or hospice, nurse educators and continuing education providers. This project is led by Betty R. Ferrell, as the principal investigator.

Balko and McNall were two of 150 nurses from across the United States to attend this training program. The principal goal of the program is to provide continuing education to nurses who wish to know more about end-of-life/palliative care, particularly resources to integrate end-of-life/palliative care content into their in-service programs or courses. Course content was presented in several participatory formats, including lecture, open forum discussion, small group activities and training sessions.

The training program was conducted by a distinguished faculty of researchers, educators, authors and leaders in the field of palliative care. Topic areas included nursing care at the end-of-life/palliative care; pain and symptom assessment and management; cultural considerations; ethical issues; communication; loss, grief and bereavement; final hours of life; and leadership.

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