Program


Nurse-to-nurse palliative care consultations: A pilot project

May 25, 2024 from 11:45am MDT to 12:00pm MDT

Oral Poster Presentation: Nurse-to-nurse palliative care consultations: A pilot project

Background: Palliative care is an approach aimed at improving the quality of life and addressing the concerns of patients with a life-threatening illness and their families (1). Palliative care provision for people with end-stage heart disease has been shown to reduce the length of hospital stay, readmissions and cost of care (2-5). Unfortunately, given the unpredictable trajectory of those with end-stage heart disease, the lack of clear referral triggers, and overall discomfort with palliative care, the provision of palliative care for those with end-stage heart disease remains low (6). The aim of this pilot project was to improve the comfort of inpatient nursing staff with the provision of palliative care for those with end-stage heart disease through a mentorship program via a nurse-to-nurse palliative care consultation.
Methods/Results: This pilot project followed the Knowledge-to-Action framework (7), knowledge application. The problem was identified, and knowledge was adapted to the local context through a hospital-wide survey. Barriers and facilitators of knowledge use were assessed and identified through informal interviews with key stakeholders.To evaluate the outcomes of this pilot project, an audit tool was created. Monitoring and sustaining knowledge is ongoing through informal interviews.
Conclusion: This pilot project reveals that a nurse-to-nurse palliative care consultation is a sustainable and appropriate form of mentoring nurses who care for patients with end-stage cardiac disease on the provision of palliative care. Next steps will include a post-intervention survey one year following the implementation of the pilot project to evaluate inpatient nurses’ comfort and knowledge.

Speakers / Panelists

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    Freya Kelly
    RN, MScN