How Experiences and Education Impact Undergraduate Nursing Student Preparedness to Provide Primary Palliative Care: A Longitudinal, Multi-Site Study in the United States

Background Palliative care should be available to all patients and families dealing with serious illness. Hence, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing has called for palliative care to be an integral part of nursing education. Students report a lack of competence and confidence with this subject. Purpose To determine preparedness of undergraduate nursing students to provide primary palliative care while evaluating for differences in preparedness based on healthcare and palliative care experience and determining if there was a change in preparedness when students receive palliative care education. Methods A longitudinal, multi-site study used a newly developed tool to measure self-perceived preparedness to provide primary palliative care. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the influence of independent variables on preparedness to provide primary palliative care. Findings The baseline survey was completed by 294 students. Participants with previous experience in healthcare and/or palliative care had significantly higher total preparedness to provide palliative care than those without these experiences (P < 0.001). Past palliative care experience and clinical courses significantly influenced preparedness to provide palliative care ( P < 0.001). From the start to end of the nursing program, 38 students completed both the pre- and post-test survey which demonstrated a substantial increase in readiness to provide primary palliative care ( P < 0.01). Discussion Clinical experiences exposing students to primary palliative care supports students’ preparedness to provide this care, which is especially important for students who lack previous experiences in these areas.