ELNEC Updates: November 2023

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), a collaborative effort between AACN and the City of Hope to improve palliative care, would like to share the following updates for faculty at schools of nursing. We continue to expand our resources to support faculty at schools of nursing to advance palliative care education. Here is a summary of those resources.

Important ELNEC Curriculum Update

ELNEC Undergraduate/New Graduate
Relias LLC released an updated version of ELNEC Undergraduate/New Graduate on September 2, 2023. Our ELNEC faculty thoughtfully considered learner feedback as part of the revision process. We have highlighted some important changes that faculty and students will see in the new modules.

• New Look - Relias LLC transitioned to a new platform that features a smoother flow with fewer clicks and new interactive features. For those familiar with the last version of the curriculum, it will look different.
• Competence Statements - Each module now includes competence statements associated with the given content to promote schools of nursing transition to competency-based education.
• Expanded Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Content –
  • Integrated content addressing barriers and inequities that adversely impact access and quality of care for marginalized populations.
  • Vignettes and questions role model the importance of pronouns.
  • Broader representation of racial and gender diversity.
• Content and Trigger Warnings - While there is controversy related to the use of content warnings, the modules have integrated such statements and encourage students to seek help if they experience distress while working through the module. Certain videos also contain trigger warnings for students, particularly those that address dying patients.
• Reflecting the Continuum of Care - Module content represents the continuum of care, with increased information related to palliative care within the outpatient and community settings. Similarly, module images depict individuals in different stages of living with serious illness.

Module-Specific Highlights
While not reflective of all changes in the updated curriculum, below we highlight some significant changes to the module content.

• Module 1: Introduction to Palliative Care has a new section with facts and information on the top 10 serious illnesses in the United States.
• Module 2: Communication has a new section on culture and identity considerations in communication and expands information on communication with caregivers.
• Module 3: Pain Management has a new section on breakthrough pain and expanded content related to challenges and barriers to effective pain management.
• Module 4: Symptom Management now includes assessment and management of diarrhea, sleep disturbances, and cognitive changes.
• Module 5: Loss, Grief, and Bereavement includes a new framework for communicating condolence and expands content on wellbeing to include healthcare system responsibilities in preventing and responding to moral distress.
• Module 6: Final Hours includes a new section on dignity-conserving care and expands content on ethical considerations with various life-sustaining measures.

Free Webinars for Faculty: 2023 Remaining Webinars

• ELNEC Undergraduate/New Graduate Module 5: Grief, Loss, and Bereavement with guest presenter Dr. Susan Meskis, University of Alaska
  Join us November 15, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. (ET)
  Register Here
  These 1-hour interactive sessions are intended to explore resources and strategies for teaching and evaluation related to palliative nursing care topics, with a focus on competency-based education.
• ELNEC Graduate Module 6: Final Hours with guest speaker Dr. Susan Meskis
  Join us December 11, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. (ET)
  Register Here

Regional Support

ELNEC has identified faculty champions from around the country who are available to support you in advancing palliative care education. Our regional chairs/co-chairs are able to support schools of nursing in considering how to teach students about the unique palliative care needs of their local, diverse communities while also ensuring adherence to state regulatory requirements for academic programs. You can find out more information and identify your Regional Chair on the ELNEC Faculty Corner website. The Faculty Corner also hosts a repository of teaching resources to support faculty in palliative care education. Check back often as new resources are always being added.

ELNEC Schools of Nursing Faculty Corner Website

Our Schools of Nursing Faculty Corner is constantly adding new resources to support palliative care education for undergraduate and graduate programs. Visit often for new material and announcements. If you have an innovative resource you wish to share, please contact the ELNEC team at elnec@coh.org.

Publications and Other Resources

• Daly, S., Roberts, S., Winn, S., & Greene, L. (2023). Implementation and evaluation of an end-of-life standardized participant simulation in an adult/gerontology acute care nurse practitioner program. Nursing Education Perspectives, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001167
• Mitrea, N., Brown, B., Charpentier, M., Mullalli, H. A., Laska, I., Sinani, A., Banu, R., Paice, J. A., & Ancuta, C. (2023). Translating knowledge into clinical practice: A unique End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium teleconferencing program. Journal of Hospice and Palliative. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/NJH.0000000000000969
• Episode #14 of the Capstone SimCast has been released: End of Life Simulation Journal Club. This episode features a discussion about the current literature regarding End of Life Simulation experiences and features an interview with one of our former colleagues, Dr. Megan P. Lippe – Associate Professor, UT Health San Antonio. Listen on Apple or Spotify.

On behalf of the ELNEC team
ELNEC Co-Investigators

Dr. Andra Davis
Associate Professor
University of Portland
davisa@up.edu

Dr. Megan Lippe
Associate Professor
UT Health San Antonio
School of Nursing
lippe@uthscsa.edu