Italian nursing students' attitudes towards care of the dying patient: a multi-center descriptive study

Abstract Introduction. Well-implemented, holistic care of the dying patient requires appropriate qualifications from the medical personnel. Aim. The aim of the study was to collect the opinions of nursing and medical students before the end of their professional education on their preparation to provide care to the dying patient. Material and methods. The survey was carried out in a group of 213 medical and nursing students during their final year of professional education. Results. Students were unable to clearly express their opinion on their preparation to provide care to patients at the end of their lives (87; 40.8%). Nursing students were more likely to perceive themselves as prepared for such care – 30 (26.7%) than medical students – 11 (10.9%). Statistically significant correlation was observed. A large group of the students (92; 43.2%) had never been present at the scene of a patient’s death during clinical classes. The majority of the respondents chose ‘definitely not’ (59; 27.7%) and ‘rather not’ (53; 24.9%) answers when asked if their university education had prepared them for work with patients at the end of their lives. Students considered their knowledge to be lacking mostly in areas such as coping with their own emotions in the face of a patient’s death (137; 64.3%); communicating with a dying person (119; 55.9%); providing care to the patient’s family (154; 72.3%); cooperating with the patient’s family (125; 58.7%). Conclusions. Students of both majors are not certain about the level of their preparation to provide care to people at the end of their lives, nor about the extent to which their university education had introduced them to the specificity of care of a dying patient. The medical students were observed to exhibit higher statistical significance as compared to the nursing students. The university curriculum prepared the students to take care of the dying patient’s biological sphere, but did not prepare them to assume a holistic approach to care of the patient and his family.

Download Full-text

Jordanian Student Nurses’ Attitudes towards the Care of Dying Patients

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.1177/0030222820971077 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 003022282097107

Author(s):

Mohammad Al Qadire

Keyword(s):

Nursing Students ◽

Student Nurses ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Knowledge And Attitudes ◽

Dying Patients ◽

The Mean ◽

Second Year ◽

Students Attitudes ◽

Care Of The Dying

The purpose of the current inquiry is to measure Jordanian student nurses’ attitudes towards the care of dying patients using a cross-sectional survey. The sample of this study comprises 300 nursing students. Data was collected using the Frommelt’s Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Form B (FATCOD–B). Most of the students were female (72%) in their second year (40.3%). The mean total score of all FATCD-B items was 95.8 out of 150 (SD 8.7). Student nurses had low mean scores for their attitude towards care of the dying. Two approaches could be taken to improve this situation. First, research is needed to fully understand and explain students’ attitudes towards the care of dying patients. It might be more appropriate to utilize mixed research methods. The second is to integrate end-of-life care courses within the curricula of nursing programmes, currently the mainstay in improving students’ knowledge and attitudes toward care of the dying.

Download Full-text

Spanish Adaptation of the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD-S) in Nursing Undergraduates

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.1177/0030222816688294 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 120-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Montserrat Edo-Gual ◽

Joaquín Tomás-Sábado ◽

Juana Gómez-Benito ◽

Cristina Monforte-Royo ◽

Amor Aradilla-Herrero

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Factor Model ◽

Death Attitudes ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Dying Patient ◽

Significant Factors ◽

Care Of The Dying

The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD) is designed to assess the attitudes of professionals and trainees toward caring for the dying patient and their family members. In this study the main aim is to adapt the FATCOD to a Spanish context (FATCOD-S). In addition, the relations between FATCOD-S, sociodemographic variables, emotional intelligence, and death attitudes have been analyzed. A sample of 669 Spanish nursing students from four Universities responded to a questionnaire. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) concludes a structure composed of two significant factors. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out. The CFA supported a two-factor model. Students with past experience of death and those who had received training in palliative care scored significantly higher on both factors of the FATCOD-S ( p < 0.01). The FATCOD-S is an effective and valid tool for measuring the attitudes of Spanish nursing students toward caring for patients at the end of life.

Download Full-text