A Comparison of Educational Approaches to the End-of-Life-Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Course

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to compare the effectiveness of two different educational approaches to teaching the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium course. Background: Terminally ill patients frequently visit the emergency department for palliative care. However, various references show that staff does not have the knowledge base necessary to provide quality end-of-life care in the emergency setting. Method: Participants from the emergency department at a Level I Trauma Center were recruited. A quantitative, cross-sectional pilot study was conducted to investigate whether lecture or lecture with simulation was more effective in increasing the knowledge base of participants regarding end-of-life care. Results: The lecture only and lecture with simulation groups were compared and showed no statistical significance between groups. However, when modules were examined individually, statistical significance was achieved in both groups for varying modules. Conclusion: As terminally ill patients continue to use the emergency department for pain and symptom management and end-of-life care, emergency staff must be provided with educational opportunities and resources regarding end-of-life care. The ELNEC course is one method for increasing the end-of-life knowledge base for nurses