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Course Title: Nursing Care at the End of Life
Campus Course Code: NURS 3356
Campus: UT Arlington
Program: Non-Program

Course Description
This elective course provides an overview of the nursing care of the terminally ill patient and family. During the five-week session, we will explore the impact of personal values and beliefs about death on nursing care, the physiology of end stage disease processes, clinical approaches to pain and symptom management, grief and bereavement, societal issues and trends in end of life care and the role of the nurse in hospice and palliative care. The course is taught online, incorporating self-paced instruction, case studies and asynchronous group discussion. 

Objectives

  • Recognize dynamic changes in population demographics, health care economics, and service delivery that necessitate improved professional preparation for end-of-life care.
  • Communicate effectively and compassionately with the patient, family, and health care team members about end-of-life issues.
  • Apply legal and ethical principles in the analysis of complex issues in end-of-life care, recognizing the influence of personal values, professional codes, and patient preferences.
  • Assess and treat multiple dimensions, including physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs, to improve quality at the end of life.
  • Utilize scientifically based standardized tools used to assess symptoms (e.g., pain, dyspnea [breathlessness] constipation, anxiety, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, and altered cognition) experienced by patients at the end of life.
  • Recognize one's own attitudes, feelings, values, and expectations about death and the individual, cultural, and spiritual diversity existing in these beliefs and customs.
  • Assist the patient, family, colleagues, and one's self to cope with suffering, grief, loss, and bereavement in end-of-life care.
  • Promote the provision of comfort care to the dying as an active, desirable, and important skill, and an integral component of nursing care.
Materials

Visit the Bookstores page for links to campus bookstores that provide information on course materials.
Prerequisites: BSN and RN to BSN students. At least one clinical nursing course should be completed prior to enrolling. Others with permission of the instructor.
Credits:3
Level:Undergraduate
Faculty

Mary Jo  Perley
perley@uta.edu
817-272-2776