Do student nurses within an undergraduate child health programme feel that the curriculum prepares them to deal with the death of a child?
This article discusses the findings of a qualitative study undertaken within a university in the UK to investigate whether the curriculum prepares student nurses in an undergraduate children's nursing programme to deal with a child's death. The literature examined made it clear that end-of-life education remains inconsistent within nursing schools, particularly highlighting a deficit within children's nursing, and leaving many students at a disadvantage when faced with a child's death within the practice setting. The article concludes that acquiring the knowledge and skills to enable students to deal confidently with a child's death may not be achievable within a classroom setting, however more could be done to address students' concerns in dealing with such a significantly traumatic event. The recommendations are that death education needs to take a higher priority earlier on in the curriculum, and that students need to be provided with the opportunity to reflect on their experiences within small group discussions.
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kings College London, UK. sheena.h.carson@kcl.ac.uk
Sheena
S
Carson
D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010371:Pediatric Nursing; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012579:Schools, Nursing; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult