ELNEC Receives New Funding from Cambia Health Foundation to Develop Graduate Palliative Nursing Care Competencies

New Initiative Builds on Successful Launch of ELNEC Undergraduate Competencies

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 28, 2018 - The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), an 18-year partnership between the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and treatment center for cancer and diabetes, was awarded funding from the Cambia Health Foundation to continue the ELNEC-Undergraduate online project and to begin development of palliative care competencies for graduate nursing students. Once these competencies are completed and endorsed by the AACN Board of Directors, the ELNEC-Graduate online curriculum will be developed. 
 
The ELNEC-Undergraduate online curriculum, which debuted in January 2017, has been a tremendous success. The Competencies And Recommendations for Educating undergraduate nursing Students (CARES) document served as the foundation for ELNEC-Undergraduate. For the first 18 months of this project, over 200 Schools of Nursing across the US, representing more than 6,600 students in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, have enrolled or are in the process of enrolling their undergraduate students. In addition, several acute care facilities have used the curriculum in their residency programs for new graduate nurses. Deans, nursing faculty, and students have spoken very highly about this curriculum and the ease of using it as a teaching/learning tool. 
 
"Having access to this online palliative care content for twelve months allows students to review the interactive modules as assigned, all in an effort to provide compassionate care to the most vulnerable they will be privileged to care for throughout their nursing career," stated Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, MA, CHPN, FPCN, FAAN, Principal Investigator of ELNEC, Director of Nursing Research & Education, and Professor at City of Hope. 
 
"Cambia Health Foundation is pleased to support the work of the ELNEC/City of Hope to provide nursing students with quality educational resources," said Peggy Maguire, President and Board Chair of Cambia Health Foundation. "By investing in education and workforce development, we hope to transform the experience of people with serious illness and their families." 
 
Because of the high-quality and ease of integrating the ELNEC-Undergraduate program into their curricula, deans and nursing faculty have requested that a similar curriculum be developed for graduate nursing students. In August 2018, nursing faculty and practice partners began developing much-needed palliative care competencies for graduate students. From these competencies, a new online curriculum, ELNEC-Graduate, designed specifically for graduate nursing students will be developed. 
 
"With the U.S. population aging rapidly, chronic illness compounding the complexity of care, and shortage of physicians in many parts of this country, graduate nursing students, especially advance practice registered nurses (APRNs), must be ready to meet the tremendous challenges that lie ahead," stated AACN Board Chair Ann Cary, PhD, MPH, RN, FNAP, FAAN. "Palliative care is truly the very essence of nursing practice." 
 
For further information about the ELNEC Project, visit the ELNEC website here.