Evaluation of the curricula of undergraduate nursing courses on the theme of Palliative Care

The current scenario in Brazil of undergraduate nursing training on the topic of Palliative Care is seen as insufficient. In most undergraduate courses, the subjects that address the topic are elective and Palliative Care is approached from a perspective limited to bioethics. The nurse has a fundamental role as a therapeutic instrument in the provision of Palliative Care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the curricular matrices of Undergraduate Nursing courses in the Médio-Paraíba Region in relation to the Palliative Care discipline. This is a qualitative and quantitative research carried out through content analysis of the curricular matrices of undergraduate Nursing courses in Educational Institutions in the Médio-Paraíba Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro. This study showed that most institutions that offer a degree in Nursing, 10 (56%) do not offer the Palliative Care discipline, 1 (5%) institution offers it electively and 6 (39%) the discipline is offered permanently in its curriculum matrix. There is a perceived need to build an educational process in Palliative Care, which will contribute not only to reflection on issues regarding the care of people with life- threatening illnesses, as well as their families, but also enabling changes in the way of caring and thinking about the terminality process.