Reflecting on patient and carer biographies in palliative care education

This paper describes an evaluation study which explored the impact of the introduction of a selection of stories and biographical literature within a post-registration Palliative Care Diploma (nursing) course. The aim was to explore how this literature could help participants to understand more about palliative care. Participants were asked to reflect, for example, on the kind of language used, why the author wrote the book and the most important message conveyed. The rationale for using this approach is explained, the learning process described and the impact of using this literature evaluated. Participants found this to be an interesting exercise, which aided reflection on the personal meanings of serious illness. Such insights could clearly have implications for reflective practice in palliative care. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for using this kind of literature in a similar learning context in the future. It also considers possible ways of formally evaluating this approach with different health care groups and identifies potential research methods for doing this.