Changing the Face of Death: A Pedagogic Intervention

A study was undertaken to explore whether alumni (N = 154) from years 2001 to 2007 at our school of nursing perceive that the end-of-life (EOL) undergraduate education they received (a) prepared them to provide quality care to the dying and their loved ones and (b) contributed to changes in their way of being in the world, generally speaking. There were statistically significant differences between those who had taken an EOL elective while in nursing school and those who had not. This exploration of nurse alumni perceptions, from a school of nursing that purportedly has strong advocacy for EOL education, offers a snapshot view of issues relevant to the integration of EOL education in nursing schools. Overall findings underscore the need for ongoing topical evaluation to ensure that all nurses are consistently educated to care for the dying and their loved ones.