Journal of palliative medicine
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Review
Evaluation Tools for Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Learning Experiences: A Literature Review.
Background: An interdisciplinary palliative care team began exploring evaluation tools used to assess changes in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of learners participating in clinical learning experiences on an interdisciplinary palliative care consult service. This article will review existing evaluation tools, examine the themes that emerge, discuss their strengths and limitations, and make recommendations for continued development in the field. Methods and Findings: A literature search was performed using the MEDLINE database. Search terms included combinations of the following: interdisciplinary education, assessment/evaluation, and palliative care or palliative care assessment/test. ⋯ Evaluation tools varied in terms of learner type, assessment type, and frequency. No tool was comprehensive in the assessment of knowledge, skills, and attitudes or truly interdisciplinary. Conclusions: There is a lack of comprehensive and interdisciplinary evaluation tools in the published literature. Further research should be conducted to develop a tool that meets the needs of learners in clinical experiences within an interdisciplinary service.
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Background: A significant number of newborns are affected by life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. Despite this prevalence, there are inconsistencies in attitudes toward, and delivery of, neonatal palliative care. Implementing neonatal palliative care practice requires a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort. Objective: To examine institutional and individual barriers to and facilitators of neonatal palliative care from both medical and nursing perspectives. Design/Setting/Subjects: A prospective cross-sectional study design was used to collect data using the Neonatal Palliative Care Attitude Scale (NiPCAS) survey from medical providers and nurses in a 64-bed level IV neonatal intensive care unit in the United States. ⋯ In addition, there were differences between medical and nursing staffs' attitudes on several topics. Conclusions: Several facilitators and barriers of neonatal palliative care were identified. There were similarities and differences in perceptions of neonatal palliative care between medical and nursing staff. Future work should be done to strengthen facilitators and to mitigate barriers.
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Palliative care (PC) teams are increasingly being called upon to provide care earlier and more remote from end of life. Because much of the field has grown out of hospice and geriatric care, most teams have little to no experience caring for pregnant women or their fetuses when serious or life-threatening illness strikes. ⋯ Truly comprehensive PC extends throughout the life span, from conception to death, regardless of age. Accordingly, increased knowledge of the unique needs of these vulnerable groups will enhance our ability to provide care across this continuum.