title: Third-year Australian nursing students' attitudes, experiences, knowledge, and education concerning end-of-life care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nurses have a vital role in providing end-of-life care to patients and their families, and it is important that nursing students are adequately prepared for this role.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article reports on qualitative findings from research that explored a cohort of third-year undergraduate Australian nursing students' attitudes, experiences, knowledge, and education concerning end-of-life care.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study used open-ended questions in a purpose-designed, self-administered questionnaire and thematic analysis of the responses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five themes emerged from the analysis: the importance of the students' values and beliefs, the influence of experience, their views on what constitutes a good or bad death, their knowledge of ethics and legislation surrounding end-of-life care, and how they perceived their level of education and knowledge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The need for more education on end-of-life care has implications for curriculum development in undergraduate nursing programmes, which need to provide graduating nurses with the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver quality care to patients who are dying and their families.
authors.affiliation: Registered Nurse, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia;
authors.forename: Oluwatomilayo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Adesina
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DeBellis
authors.forename: Lana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zannettino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013021:South Australia; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care
keywords: Death and dying; End-of-life care; Euthanasia; Nursing; Undergraduate education