Integrating palliative care into undergraduate nursing curriculum – The University of Newcastle’s experience

The Palliative Care Curriculum for Undergraduate Project (PCC4U) provided the University of Newcastle’s (UoN), School of Nursing and Midwifery (SoNM), an opportunity to review how palliative care was integrated into the Bachelor of Nursing (BN) curriculum. This review was incorporated into the 2009 external review and BN curriculum reaccreditation.

The initial phase activity was a rigorous mapping exercise. At commencement of the project, a review of the course objectives was undertaken and palliative care related content was evident in approximately 10 percent of the program. On completion of the mapping exercise which considered, course outlines, modules and lectures from mandatory courses, palliative care topics were identified in many aspects of courses, but were not explicitly stated within course objectives.

The second phase included stakeholder consultation with academics, clinical partners within the area health and aged care sector and a PCC4U workshop. As a result of consultations three themes emerged: promoting linkages and partnerships between clinicians and academics; promoting student-centred learning and embedding curriculum/inter-professional learning (PCC4U, 2009).

The third phase was the development of recommendations for integration into the 2011 curriculum and involved taking into consideration; principles of care influencing nursing practice, stakeholder feedback, mapping activities and capabilities and attributes of nursing graduates. Recommendations included learning outcomes for the graduates, suggested content and a flowchart, which outlined how palliative care would be presented in each course over three years of the program. The significance of this flowchart is to ensure integration across the program, transparency and consistency for future changes and development within the BN program.