PALIIATIVE CARE IN MEDICAL PATIENTS AS PERCEIVED BY NURSING STUDENTS

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to explore 1) the meaning of palliative care in medical patients and 2) palliative care in medical patients as perceived by undergraduate nursing students. The population consisted of 198 fourth-year students enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing Science Program at a university in Bangkok; 17 of them who had completed the practicum in palliative care nursing course were purposively selected as informants and were in-depth interviewed individually by the principle researcher. The research instruments, which were 1) semi-structured interview guided question, 2) personal data sheet, and 3) field note sheet, were developed by the principle researcher and were reviewed for content validity by five experts with the IOC of .98. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and triangulation of the data was conducted by cross-verifying observational data and field notes with in-depth interviews, and by asking the informants to verify the data. 

From the study emerged a meaning of palliative care in medical patients as perceived by the nursing students, as well as five other major issues regarding the care, which were hope, spirituality and beliefs, death and near-death conditions, preparations of nursing students, and nursing instructors and staff nurses. The findings are deemed useful for the development of undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, textbooks, books, innovations, as well as qualitative and quantitative research on palliative care. This will help raise the quality of education and further enhance the capability of professional nurses involved in providing palliative care.