The Utility of a Palliative Communication Class in Improving the Communication Skills of Oncology Nurses in an Outpatient Infusion Area

<p>Many oncology patients report having unmet emotional needs. In the Outpatient Infusion Area, oncology patients have indicated that they are dissatisfied with how their emotional needs are met, as evidenced by a 70.9% Press Ganey score for the domain “emotional needs met.” Members of the Patient and Family Advisory Council validated this data, and indicated a need for nursing communication training. Palliative care communication courses utilizing simulated patient conversations have been well-established as a means of improving nursing confidence and skillset. A palliative care communication course was developed in conjunction with the palliative medicine team as a novel approach to increase patient satisfaction through the support and training of nursing staff. The course outline and materials were accepted by the CE center and nurses in the Outpatient Infusion Area will be enrolled in two cohorts. Nurses will be surveyed pre- and post-course to assess confidence level and self-perceived skillset and Press Ganey data will be monitored monthly to track the effect on patient satisfaction. A 4.1% increase in the Press Ganey score is expected within 6 months of course completion and a 5% increase in nursing confidence and perceived skillset is expected within 1 month of course completion. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Level thesis:degree_level

Restricted Project/Capstone - USF access only

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• McIntyre, Karen

• Other Nursing

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/600

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.usfca.edu:capstone-1629