Exploring the Experiences of Community-based Children's Nurses Providing Palliative Care

Aim: To explore the experiences of community children’s nurses (CCNs) and children’s palliative care nurses (CPCNs) who provide end-stage palliative care to children with cancer in the family home. Method: A qualitative approach was adopted. One-to-one interviews and facilitated case discussions were undertaken with 30 community nurses who had provided palliative care to a child or young person with cancer. A grounded theory approachwas used for data analysis. Findings: Because of the relative rarity of childhood cancer many CCNs and CPCNs engage infrequently in the palliative care of children or young people. This makes it difficult for them to develop and maintain knowledge and skills. There is a variation in the out-of-hours service provision available to families. Conclusion: Further funding is needed to develop teams of trained, experienced CCNs and CPCNs who can provide palliative care for children and young people 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Keywords Community nursing, oncology, out-of-hours services, palliative care

Understanding the Patient Experience Through the Power of Film: a Mixed Method Qualitative Research Study

Background For decades film has proved to be a powerful form of communication. Whether produced as entertainment, art or documentary, films have the capacity to inform and move us. Films are a highly attractive teaching instrument and an appropriate teaching method in health education. It is a valuable tool for studying situations most transcendental to human beings such as pain, disease and death. Objectives The objectives were to determine how this helps students engage with their role as health care professionals; to determine how they view the personal experience of illness, disease, disability or death; and to determine how this may impact upon their provision of patient care. Design, Setting and Participants The project was underpinned by the film selection determined by considerate review, intensive scrutiny, contemplation and discourse by the research team. 7 films were selected, ranging from animation; foreign, documentary, biopic and Hollywood drama. Each film was shown discretely, in an acoustic lecture theatre projected onto a large screen to pre-registration student nurses (adult, child and mental health) across each year of study from different cohorts (n = 49). Method A mixed qualitative method approach consisted of audio-recorded 5-minute reactions post film screening; coded questionnaires; and focus group. Findings were drawn from the impact of the films through thematic analysis of data sets and subjective text condensation categorised as: new insights looking through patient eyes; evoking emotion in student nurses; spiritual care; going to the moves to learn about the patient experience; self discovery through films; using films to link theory to practice. Results Deeper learning through film as a powerful medium was identified in meeting the objectives of the study. Integration of film into pre registration curriculum, pedagogy, teaching and learning is recommended. Conclusion The teaching potential of film stems from the visual process linked to human emotion and experience. Its impact has the power to not only help in learning the values that underpin nursing, but also for respecting the patient experience of disease, disability, death and its reality.