Conclusion
With in-hospital deaths on the rise, nurses need to be adequately prepared to care for dying patients and their families to improve the overall EOL experience. Use of the CARES tool for nurses significantly improved knowledge regarding EOL care, knowledge, and comfort in addressing symptom management needs of the dying, including comfort/pain management, airway and emotional support, and confidence in communicating about the dying process with family members of dying patients. Final Journey helped families be more informed, helped nurses answer difficult questions, and promoted and encouraged communication between health care professionals and families. Through use of the CARES tools, unnecessary suffering at EOL can be mitigated by improving the EOL knowledge of nurses and the EOL experience as perceived by family members of dying patients.
The CARES tools are available as free downloads at www.carestool.com.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the progressive care registered nurses at UPMC Mercy and Bonnie Freeman who were instrumental in establishing the CARES tools.
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. 2019;21(3):200-206. © 2019 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
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