"End-of-Life Care: Nurses Speak Out" by Ferrell, Virani, Grant, Coyne, and Uman (2000). The authors of this article were researchers at the City of Hope National Medical Center located in Duarte, California. These researchers possess credentials to include advanced degrees and certifications such as Rn, PhD, CRNH, CS, and MSN. They were qualified to research and comment on the topic since they are recognized as experts in the nursing field.
The purpose of this article was to present results of a survey used to assess nurses regarding how well they meet the needs of the terminally ill patient with regard to physical and emotional care. The surveys were mailed to nurses and the sample for the study numbered 2,333 responses. Average age of respondent was 46 years and the average time as a licensed nurse was 23 years. Nurses dealt with this population in hospitals, ambulatory care outpatient clinics, hospices, home health care, rehabilitation centers and other locations. Findings showed that regarding emotional support for grief or bereavement and spiritual needs, 35 percent reported themselves as being effective. Most reported this type of psychological support as somewhat effective or not effective. regarding physical care for the patient, 71 percent reported being very effective and 28 percent reported being somewhat effective.
The findings from this research are empirically, though not experimentally valid. Nurses were from a convenience sample, and several settings were surveyed, to include acute care and long-term care. Hospital nurses reported more barriers to caring effectively for the dying patient and they reported being less effective. Oncology nurses rated care higher and barriers as less severe. All nurses reported feeling more confident about physical care and less confident about psychosocial and spiritual needs. They reported that their education was inadequate for this patient population.
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