Search
Now showing items 1-4 of 4
Communication in a palliative care setting: The use of shadow box as a strategy
(2017-08-17)
Communicating with palliative patients and families is a fundamental yet difficult skill for nursing students to acquire. While many nursing programs didactically instruct palliative theory, actual hands on application ...
A process evaluation of an outpatient palliative care program: A quality improvement project
(2017-11-28)
Palliative care has evolved from providing care for patients near end-of-life into a specialized discipline focused on addressing the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients throughout the trajectory of an illness. For patients with metastatic cancer, timely referrals to palliative care are essential in order to have a meaningful impact on their quality of life. Recommendations for screening patients for palliative care have been offered by professional organizations; however, screening all patients with metastatic cancer poses many challenges. This quality improvement project conducted a process evaluation of an outpatient palliative care program and evaluated the feasibility of utilizing a screening tool in an effort to readily identify patients with metastatic cancer that have palliative care needs in an outpatient cancer center. Although nurses’ compliance with the screening tool was less than expected, screening for palliative care needs in this setting resulted in more referrals to palliative care compared to physician referrals. Improvements in quality of life were found in patients who received a palliative care consultation and patients were very satisfied with the care provided by palliative care. The potential for financial improvements was observed as a result of this project.
Key words: palliative care, metastatic cancer, screening, process evaluation...
Education and Implementation of POLST Protocols in Northern Arizona
(2017-09-01)
Provider orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) is a medical order set that is signed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant and describes how patients wish to be cared for regarding their medical ...
Complex illness support alongside standard oncology care
(2017-09-20)
Aim. To evaluate the effect of Complex Illness Support alongside standard oncology care for patients with incurable cancer on symptom control, patient satisfaction with care, and chemotherapy utilization within 30 days of ...