title: Healthcare professional education: a unique role for hospices.
abstract: We sought to describe the educational experiences that hospices currently provide for students in health professions by using a national cross-sectional, Web-based survey of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Population-based Palliative Care Research Network (PoPCRN) hospice sites. Of the 75 responding sites, 71 (95 percent) participated in the education of health profession students, most commonly providing education for bachelor of science in nursing students (73 percent), associate's degree nursing students (61 percent), master's-level social work or counseling students (61 percent), registered nursing students (59 percent), medical students (58 percent), and medical residents (57 percent). Significant staff time was devoted to educating these students (averaging 11 to 30 hours/week), but less than 3 percent received any financial compensation. Therefore, we conclude that hospices provide a significant amount of uncompensated education. This conclusion provides a unique opportunity for hospices to collaborate with healthcare educational institutions and to influence the work force of the future.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Care Policy and Research, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado, USA.
authors.forename: Stacy M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.forename: Cordt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kassner
authors.forename: Jean S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kutner
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004517:Education, Professional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000592:standards; D006738:Hospices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000592:standards; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States