School of Nursing and Midwifery

The target audience for this module is any student involved in providing end of life care in their current role, who wants to understand more about palliative symptom management and subsequent bereavement issues in the provision of interprofessional end of life care.

This 15 credit Level 3 module intends to address the elements of evidence-based symptom management, the issues surrounding place of care and the needs of the bereaved, as well as the importance of critically evaluating the outcome of care. The recent End of Life Strategy (DH, 2008) advocates that all people at the end of life should have their needs acknowledged and not experience any unnecessary pain or other symptoms. Also, that they and their families should receive practical and emotional support, both during the end of life phase and after bereavement. Furthermore, measurement and evaluation of end of life care provision is seen as a key lever for positive change and progress. This module will be delivered utilising a blended learning approach.

The module is appropriate for a wide range of clinicians who come into contact with individuals with end of life care needs, across a variety of settings (i.e. primary and secondary care, third sector provision, specialist High Dependency Units and other acute care settings). It forms part of the Graduate Certificate (End of Life Care), along with the Recognising the End of Life module (15 Level 3 credits). The achievement of the outcomes is further complimented by the simultaneous undertaking of the Clinical Practice module, where the practitioner has the opportunity to complete all of the given outcomes in their own clinical setting, guided by a focused and specific clinical competency framework. The final module within the Graduate Certificate (End of Life Care) is the Evidence Based Practice module, which facilitates the application of theory to the practitioner's own practice area.

This module is a core module for the BSc (Hons) Clinical Practice (End of Life Care) Pathway.
This module may be undertaken as a stand alone elective module within the BSc (Hons) award for other pathways

To demonstrate an understanding of the priorities for holistic palliative symptom management in end of life care and subsequent bereavement issues

Professional Registration with an appropriate statutory body.
Minimum of 6 months post-registration experience in a setting where end of life care is provided

Evidence-based clinical practice
Priorities of care
Palliative interventions
Pharmacological symptom management
Non-pharmacological symptom management
Complimentary therapies
Place of care and patient choice
Grief reactions / responses to bereavement
Issues of exclusion and risk in bereavement
Evaluating quality and outcomes of care
Related legal/ethical issues
Related user/carer involvement