Dealing with death: first encounters for first-year nursing students.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Palliative Care
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• End-of-life care in England, especially for older adults, requires improvement.
• Government initiatives aim to enhance end-of-life care quality.
• Emotional labor and ethics of non-abandonment are proposed as frameworks for high-quality care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate first-year nursing students' experiences with patient deaths.
• To explore the emotional impact and learning derived from these encounters.
• To identify areas for improvement in end-of-life care education and support.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research exploring first-year nursing students' encounters with patient deaths.
• Analysis of student narratives to identify themes related to emotional distress, learning, and support.

Main Results:

• Patient deaths are significant learning experiences for students, often causing emotional distress.
• Some students reported flashbacks and developed avoidance behaviors post-death.
• Students reported feeling unsupported by mentors and perceived inadequate care for dying patients and families, highlighting themes of abandonment.

Conclusions:

• There is a need for enhanced end-of-life care education and support for nursing students.
• Effective role modeling and pastoral care from mentors are vital for student development.
• Link lecturers and mentors must be vigilant in recognizing and addressing student distress.