Educational Innovation
Janis S. Tuxbury, DNP, FNP-BC; Patricia M. (Wall) McCauley, MSN, RN; Wendy Lement, PhD
- Journal of Nursing Education
- August 2012 - Volume 51 · Issue 8: 462-465
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DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20120615-02
Abstract
End-of-life care is an essential part of undergraduate nursing education. However, students may not have the opportunity to be exposed to an actual end-of-life situation during clinical rotations. A pilot project was implemented to evaluate the use of forum theatre to teach end-of-life care to undergraduate nursing students. A simulation used live actors, with theatre faculty and students playing the roles of a hospice patient, family members, and nursing students providing end-of-life care. Additional nursing students were participant observers. Using forum theatre methods, students identified important moments that occurred during the simulation and suggested alternative actions for those moments. The simulation was repeated using those alternatives and was evaluated by the students. Group debriefing was provided by nursing faculty with all students. A reflective journal entry was completed by all students. Project outcomes indicated that forum theatre was an effective teaching method for the topic of end-of-life care.
Dr. Tuxbury is Nursing Faculty, Ms. McCauley is Director, Clinical Resource and Simulation Center, and Dr. Lement is Professor and Chair, Theatre, Regis College, Weston, Massachusetts.
The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
The authors thank Nancy Bittner PhD, RN, and Merrily Crowley, MSN, RN, for their assistance with the project described herein.
Address correspondence to Janis S. Tuxbury, DNP, FNP-BC, Nursing Faculty, Regis College, 235 Wellesley Street, Weston, MA 02493; e-mail: janis.tuxbury@regiscollege.edu.
Received: October 11, 2011
Accepted: March 21, 2012
Posted Online: June 15, 2012
doi: 10.3928/01484834-20120615-02