Nursing Staff At Friendship Health & Rehab 's Awareness Of Advance Care Planning

The purpose of the project was to increase the nursing staff at Friendship Health & Rehab 's awareness of advance care planning. My preceptor, who is also the director of nursing stated their facility had been going through a recent transition phase. Instead of being a primary long-term care unit, the patient acuity had changed and the nursing care was evolving to more med-surg based. As a result advance care planning was on the forefront due to end of life care no longer being eminent with their patients. Furthermore, the facility did not have a protocol or policy on advance care planning or advance directives. An educational in-service about advance care planning and advance directives would benefit the nursing staff at this time. This education would help address knowledge deficits and improve advance care planning discussions to ensure that the staff provided safe, competent and effective nursing care to their patients. Patients and family members deserve to know their options, have their healthcare wishes known and supported and be provided with assistance in making an advance directive. It is a topic for anyone, of any age, not just the elderly. You never know when an unexpected event may happen and you cannot make decisions on your own. Prior to our capstone project, I had very little experience in this clinical setting and healthcare topic. My preceptor had an abundance of information and expertise on this topic; she was a real asset for both my project and my…