An Interprofessional End-of-Life Simulation to Improve Knowledge and Attitudes of End-of-Life Care Among Nursing and Physical Therapy Students

Background: Preprofessional end-of-life (EOL) education may be inadequate, leaving a gap in students' knowledge and understanding to manage a dying patient. Attitudes toward a dying patient can affect the quality of care being provided. Simulation-based learning experience (SBLE) can assist with handling emotional situations such as EOL care. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to describe an interprofessional education (IPE) EOL SBLE to evaluate the changes in students' knowledge and attitudes in EOL care. Methods: A quasi-experimental repeated-measures pre/posttest design was used to evaluate attitudes, awareness, and behaviors of students during a simulated EOL experience. Eighty-three nursing and physical therapist students participated in an SBLE focusing on EOL care. The Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale-Form B (FATCOD-B) was completed pre/post-SBLE. Students completed a written reflection of their experience and role within the SBLE. Results: The results from the FATCOD-B showed significant improvement. A 2-tailed P value (P = .0003) showed post-SBLE mean score being 4.02, demonstrating a significant improvement on the scores from pre- to post-SBLE. Qualitative data from the students' reflections demonstrated a positive response to the SBLE. Students commented the SBLE prepared them to care for a dying patient and working collaboratively with students from another discipline reinforced teamwork. Conclusion: There is significant evidence demonstrating the unpreparedness of health care professionals in caring for the dying patient. The results of this project demonstrated that incorporating an EOL simulation into curricula improved students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward patients and their family members at EOL.