A palliative care communication simulation for undergraduate nursing and midwifery students: A pilot study

Undergraduate nursing education prepares student for entry into the profession. Palliative care is an essential component of nursing education; however, a focus on the management of symptom burden fails to prepare the undergraduate in communication skills required for palliative or end-of-life care (EoLC). Simulation to teach acute care is well researched; however, limited studies explore simulation for palliative care or EoLC. Fewer studies combine communication with palliative care simulation.

The overarching aim is to explore the influence of a palliative care communication simulation on undergraduate nursing students.

Participants were students recruited from two campuses at a major Australian university in 2021. Students attended a compulsory simulation for all nursing or nursing and midwifery students. Pre- and post-simulation questionnaires collected qualitative and quantitative responses from participants. This paper reports that the quantitative data captured included demographic information, and the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD-B) tool, to assess the attitudes. The qualitative component of the research will be reported as a separate paper.

A statistically significant increase in FATCOD-B scores was observed between pre- and post-simulation questionnaires, as well as a statistically significant difference related to the gender of participants. Age and previous experience with death also impacted FATCOD-B results.

The increase in FATCOD-B scores demonstrate that the positive impact of simulation suggests the importance of educational interventions such as the one conducted in this study. Education to improve the attitude toward caring for the dying and communication skills for difficult conversations are relevant and valuable. Further research is indicated.