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 the nature of and the current political agenda surrounding the provision of interprofessional end of life care.

This 15 credit Level 3 module explores the central concepts, themes and issues within contemporary end of life care. The recent End of Life Care Strategy (DH 2008) recognises the need for education to ensure that health and social care staff at all levels have the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes inherent in providing high quality and effective care for the dying, and that such education will be crucial to the success of improving end of life care for all. This module will be delivered using 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 Holistic Support Through to 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 develop a critical appreciation of the nature and the current political agenda surrounding interprofessional end of life care

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

Identification and definition of end of life care principles.
Aetiology and epidemiology of life-limiting progressive diseases in adulthood: Cancer; Heart failure; Respiratory disease; Renal disease/failure; Neurological diseases.
Ageing
Levels of awareness in recognising the end of life phase
Living with uncertainty and loss
Models of palliative and end of life management, informed by current Government policies, including the End of Life Care Strategy (DH 2008)
National Service Frameworks for identified life-limiting diseases
The Gold Standards Framework
Interprofessional / interdisciplinary practice and team working
Related legal/ethical issues
Related user/carer involvement