Downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/jhpn by BhDMf5ePHKbH4TTImqenVFccdJZs1d9VKlCUMm0eH2DJT3G+1zTy3mzOpF61PqjY on 12/19/2019 Palliative Care Education in Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum in Italy Chiara Mastroianni, PhD, MSc, RN ƒ Mireia Ramon Codina, RN ƒ Daniela D’Angelo, PhD, MSc, RN ƒ Tommasangelo Petitti, SD, MSc, MD ƒ Roberto Latina, PhD, MScN, RN ƒ Giuseppe Casale, PhD, MD ƒ Adriana Turrziani, MD ƒ Michela Piredda, PhD, MSN, RN ƒ Maria Grazia de Marinis, MEd, MSN, RN Worldwide, more than 19 million people require palliative care because of an advanced stage of disease. Undergraduate nursing education should include palliative care as the European consensus suggests. In 2004, the European Society of Palliative Care issued a guide for the development of palliative nurse education in Europe. This study aims to describe the extension and characteristics of palliative care education within all of the nursing degree curricula in Italy, as well as to what extent their topics match the European Society of Palliative Care guide. A descriptive study was conducted through the universities web pages. For each degree, the curricula of the academic years from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed. Sixty percent of the curricula had formal education in palliative care, heterogeneously distributed in different courses and provided few compulsory and mandatory teaching hours. Data on clinical training suggested that education was essentially theoretical, with poor theory and practice integration. The increasing need for palliative care in different settings corresponds to increasing attention to nursing education in palliative care from the undergraduate level. The inclusion of palliative care teaching in universities at all levels of education and research development represent the future challenges for this discipline. KEY WORDS clinical competencies, curriculum, nursing education, palliative care W orldwide, more than 19 million people require palliative care because of an advanced stage of disease. 1 Palliative care is able to ensure quality of life to patients and their families and to re- spond to the complexities and mutability of their needs using a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. 2 At an in- ternational level, specialized palliative care services underwent a great development and became an essen- tial component within health services systems. 3-5 A palliative care approach should be considered from the time of diagnosis of life-threatening illness, for peo- ple with cancer or any progressive or chronic condition. Palliative care services should be integrated into the existing health systems at all levels of care, especially community- and home-based care. 6,7 Nurses play a key role in palliative care; among health care professionals, nurses are at the forefront of care pro- vision across the life span, in almost all health care settings, including inpatient, outpatient, home care, and hospice. 8 When considering the complexity of palliative care provi- sion, the acquisition of skills and competencies appears a priority. Good palliative care nursing education should im- prove nurses’ knowledge and competence in the fields of communication and pain and symptom management, Chiara Mastroianni, PhD, MSc, RN, is education department coordinator, Antea Palliative Care Centre, Rome Italy. Mireia Ramon Codina, RN, is master student, Universita ´ Cattolica del S. Cuore, Rome, Italy. Daniela D’Angelo, PhD, MSc, RN, is research fellow in nursing, Research Unit Nursing Science, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy. Tommasangelo Petitti, SD, MSc, MD, is assistant professor, Head of Hygiene Statistics and Public Health Research Unit, Universita ´ Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, and chief of medical staff, Presidio Centro Sud, IRCSS Fondazione don Gnocchi. Roberto Latina, RN, MScN, PhD, is director of Master degree, Nursing Science and Midwifery, San Camillo-Forlanini Hospital, Sapienza Uni- versity, Rome, Italy. Giuseppe Casale, PhD, MD, is health and scientific coordinator, Antea Palliative Care Centre, Rome, Italy. Adriana Turrziani, MD, is assistant professor, Radiotherapy, Catholic University in Rome, Italy. Michela Piredda, PhD, MSc, RN, is assistant professor, Research Unit Nursing Science, Campus Bio-Medico di Roma University, Rome, Italy. Maria Grazia de Marinis, MEd, MSN, RN, is professor, Research Unit Nursing Science, Campus Bio-Medico di Roma University, Rome, Italy. Address correspondence to Chiara Mastroianni, PhD, MSc, RN, Antea Palliative Care Centre, P.zza S. Maria della Pieta ´ , 5 00135 Rome, Italy (c.mastroianni@antea.net). This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Copyright B 2019 by The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000000515 96 www.jhpn.com Volume 21 & Number 1 & February 2019 Global Exemplar Series