ELNEC Celebrates 200th Course

ELNEC Celebrates 200th National/International Course 

Continues 17-Year Commitment to
Palliative Nursing Education With Two New Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 6, 2017 – On September 27-28, the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), a partnership between the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and City of Hope, celebrated its 200th course in Minneapolis, MN.  Since its inception in 2000, ELNEC has been committed to providing educational resources and train-the-trainer courses for nurses in an effort to advance palliative care for those with serious illness.  Currently, ELNEC provides courses for undergraduate and graduate nursing faculty, continuing education providers, staff development educators, and specialty nurses in pediatrics, oncology, critical care, and geriatrics. Today, over 21,700 nurses and other healthcare professionals have attended one of these 200 national/international courses. ELNEC has been presented in 91 countries and the curriculum has been translated into eight languages.

Looking ahead, two new projects will expand the outreach of ELNEC. This past August, a grant from the National Cancer Institute was received to educate and provide ELNEC resources to advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who work in oncology settings, in an effort to prepare them to be generalists in palliative care. With the U.S. population aging, cancer rates rising, and palliative care programs growing, oncology APRNs must expand their knowledge to provide and promote palliative care to patients and their families at the time of diagnosis and throughout the trajectory of the disease. "No other healthcare professional spends more time assessing and managing seriously ill patients than the nurse. Equipping oncology APRNs with this education will promote their ability to meet the complex healthcare needs of the nation," stated Dr. Juliann Sebastian, Chair of AACN's Board of Directors. For more information about this grant-funded project, visit ELNEC's website.

In addition, the number of schools of nursing, students, and faculty who are participating in the ELNEC-Undergraduate online courses continues to grow. From January 4, 2017, when the project went "live," through July 31, 2017, over 100 schools of nursing from across the United States, representing 3,253 users had required students to view this palliative care online course. During that timeframe, over 11,200 modules have been viewed. "Testimonials from both students and faculty have been overwhelmingly positive. Students have stated that they feel much more comfortable providing care to seriously ill patients, even those who are near death," stated Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, MA, CHPN, FPCN, FAAN, Professor and Principal Investigator of the ELNEC Project, City of Hope. The Cambia Health Foundation (CHF) provided funding to develop the undergraduate competencies for palliative care, CARES Document, and to develop this online curriculum. In addition, CHF has provided funding for all schools of nursing in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah to receive this curriculum free of charge through June 2018. The cost to the other 46 states is minimal. To learn more about this exciting project and to review the CARES Document, visit the ELNEC Academy website.