Educational Needs for the Nurse Caring for the Dying Pediatric Patient

Pediatric hospice and palliative care are aimed at improving the quality of life for dying children and their families. It is family-centered care that requires the management of end-of-life symptoms, compassionate communication skills with the patient and the family, and self-care of the nurse caring for the child. The need for education is apparent, as most children who could benefit from end-of-life care do not receive it. This may be due to unpredictable health outcomes of children, reluctance of parents to participate, or the refusal of end-of-life care. Despite these barriers, symptom management should be specialized for pediatric patients, with a focus on comfort rather than cure. Communication requires skill by the nurse, with a focus on quality of life, creating lasting memories, recognizing the child’s development level, and supporting bereavement of families. Self-care activities, such as unrelated hobbies and debriefing sessions, are needed to promote resilience in staff and prevent burnout. With baseline knowledge about these aspects of pediatric end-of-life care, the nurse is well-qualified to care for the dying child at the bedside and support the family. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of pediatric end-of-life care for nurses in hospital settings caring for hospice and palliative care pediatric patients.Bachelor of Scienc