What do Turkish nursing students think about palliative care?

Abstract

Objective: the purpose of this study was to identify Turkish nursing students' knowledge, thoughts and attitudes about palliative care. Methods: this is a descriptive survey study that was conducted in Ankara, Turkey on nursing students between 2015 and 2016. In order to obtain the broadest viewpoint, we decided to survey 163 nursing students, including 77 juniors and 86 seniors. The data was collected using an 'Opinion Form on Palliative Care' as well as an Introductory information form. Results: 136 out of a total of 163 junior and senior students were included in this study. Most of the students practiced general medicine, surgery and ICU, and described palliative care as a multidisciplinary health service for terminally ill patients with cancer. Although 89.7% of students had received some degree of palliative care training as part of their education, most of them (66.2%) had felt that it was insufficient. Palliative care topics that students wished were included as part of the curriculum included the basic concepts of palliative care (94.9%), communication (91.9%), legal and ethical issues (89.7%), loss and bereavement (89%), and symptom management (86%). Most students (77.9-76.5%) stated that palliative care training ought to be a mandatory training program. Conclusion: nursing students who have heard about the concept of palliative care during their education thought that the content of the palliative care education was lacking within their nursing program. Also, most had felt that this specialized content ought to be expanded upon as part of specialization training.