Exploring student nurses educational needs in relation to end-of-life care in children

Children’s nurses are most likely to have long involvement with the care of dying children in hospital and at home. As students they expect to be taught how to manage the complex technical needs of children, however, the needs of dying children may not receive the same degree of attention. Review of the literature revealed that student nurses may be exposed to the death of a child with little education to help them deal with specific needs of the children and minimal preparation in coping with personal emotional reactions. This study closely examined student nurses’ educational needs in relation to end-of-life care for children. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with final-year child-branch students to identify their experiences and perceptions. Themes identified included: anxieties regarding providing end-of-life care to children; negative aspects of end-of-life education; positive aspects of end-of-life education; and perceptions of how end-of-life education could be improved. Students perceived that education could be improved to fully prepare them to care for children at the end of life. Additionally, students identified some of the strengths of their education including providing practical nursing care to children at the end of life and receiving good support from both university and clinical staff.