Developing palliative nursing and medical education through multidisciplinary cooperation and working life collaboration

The aims of this project are 1. To study the current state of education in palliative nursing and medicine in Finland and compare it to the international recommendations; 2. To create a three-level competency description for palliative nursing and medicine (basic A and specialist B,C levels) in multidisciplinary cooperation with experts from the working life; 3. To create a national recommendation to include palliative care in bachelor's degree studies to provide basic competency in palliative care to nursing and medical students; 4. To create a national recommendation for special education in palliative nursing and medicine to provide specialist competency in palliative care. In addition, the project will develop cooperation between Master’s degrees at universities of applied sciences and science universities, R&D activities related to palliative care, innovative teaching methods and novel learning environments. The project will also contribute to a national, multidisciplinary network of palliative care experts who will promote education and research in palliative care.

Palliative care is an active, multidisciplinary approach which aims to relief suffering and improve the quality of life of patients and their families facing a life-threatening illness. It prevents and relieves suffering by means of early identification, assessment and treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems. The need for palliative care is increasing due to the ageing of world’s population and growing incidence of cancer and other non-communicable diseases. The availability of palliative care in Finland varies in different areas of the country, which is partly caused by insufficient education leading to low competency. All health care professionals should be trained to provide basics of palliative care and special training should be offered for those treating severe cases. Nowadays universities of applied sciences and universities do not provide enough education in palliative care to nursing and medical students.