Abstract
End-of-life and palliative care, while not new, have become focal issues in the health arena. The distinction between the two is often blurred. A number of initiatives have been used to educate and promote an understanding of palliative care. The aim of this study was to increase nursing staff awareness of palliative care in a Midwest Veterans Administration medical center through a variety of educational interventions and assess their impact. The focus was on the staff's understanding of palliative care, when it begins, and the nurse's role. Various educational resources were developed, including a traditional in-service session, a palliative care Web site, a set of pocket-sized reference cards, and a poster presentation. Preassessment and postassessment of the staff's understanding of the three key questions and items assessing the use and effectiveness of the educational resources were conducted. The findings demonstrate that most nurses define palliative care in the context of comfort and end-of-life. After the educational period, they recognized that palliative care begins with the diagnosis of a progressive chronic disease, and the nurse's role is primarily coordination, comfort, and advocacy. This evidence-based palliative care nursing study demonstrated that an educational program for nursing staff can increase awareness and understanding of palliative care.