Palliative care developments shared with Sweden

U of M nursing prof develops care course

VERONICA CARR STAFF

New developments in palliative care were announced between Umea University in Sweden and the University of Manitoba last week when Birgit Rasmussen and Susan McClement held a joint seminar at the U of M.

Rasmussen, a professor from Umea University spoke about her research in hospice palliative care, and her latest study regarding breast cancer and reconstruction, while McClement presented findings from a recent study “Evaluation of a Theoretical Course in Palliative Care: Impact of Registered Nurses’ Knowledge About Cancer Pain Management, and Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Patient.”

“Studies have shown that nurses can find it intimidating and feel inadequate when dealing with the dying so we wanted to develop a program that would help nurses who were already in the work field and lacked the education,” said McClement.

McClement, an assistant professor in the faculty of nursing at the U of M and research associate at the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit, CancerCare Manitoba, is working toward informing individuals on advancements that may have occurred since they graduated in hopes that their jobs won’t be as overwhelming or confusing as they may be without the added information.

McClemet adapted her course from one that Lesley Degner — a professor in the faculty of nursing, Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF)/ Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) chair, and cancer nursing co-ordinator — designed in the mid-’70s to teach nursing students about palliative care.

In a research project conducted from 1980-85, McClemet found that students who had not had specific preparation for care of the dying in their undergraduate program reported that what they needed was exactly this kind of specific preparation — they wanted a course.

These findings were published in the journal Cancer Nursing in 1988.

“Usually palliative care is sprinkled all the way through the curriculum, and isn’t taught in its very own course. We are fortunate enough to have a standalone theoretical course in addition to clinical practice at the U of M but I wanted to reach the nurses who are already working and haven’t had the chance to get the specific education,” McClement said.

In 2000, McClement set off to teach the 12-week theoretical course in community hospitals. The course covered symptom management, pain management, psycho-social/religious care, ethical issues and asked students to reflect on their own feelings towards the subject.

On the very first day of classes and three months after the program ends, all students are evaluated on knowledge of pain management and their attitudes in general about caring for the dying.

“We are very pleased to see significant improvement in their knowledge and their attitudes about care of the dying,” said McClement.

Courses are available throughout the year and can be taken at Grace General Hospital, Seven Oaks Hospital and Victoria General Hospital.