Attitudes and Experiences of Nursing Students Towards Care of Dying Patient

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing Students are frequently involved in end-of-life-care of dying patients. However, their attitudes
and experiences as well as the impact of this lived experience on themselves, are not fully elucidated. Purpose: This
study aimed to review the attitudes and experiences of nursing students towards end-of-life care in the context of
their clinical practice and to elucidate the consequences of these experiences on themselves. Material and Method:
A literature search was performed in PubMed and Scopus databases (December 2019) without any time limits, using the following key words: Nurse Student, attitudes, emotion, reaction, feeling, dying patient, end-of-life-patient.
Inclusion criteria were the articles’ written language in Greek and English. Forty six studies were found through the
aforementioned search, of which 9 met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. Results:
In the majority of studies it was shown that nursing students avoided emotional engagement with patients at the
end of their lives even if they had had a positive attitude toward palliative care. In fact, many students reported
feeling unprepared, with predominant emotions such as anxiety and fear. However, it seems that such feelings were reduced or eliminated after their training in palliative care. Conclusions: Undergraduate Nursing students who
provide care to patients with incurable diseases, experience intense emotions at the loss of the patient and need to
be provided with special training during their studies. Educating students in end-of-live care at the undergraduate
level is necessary in order to be prepared to handle these difficulties.