Columbia University School of Nursing Launches Palliative Care Program

The Columbia University School of Nursing has launched a comprehensive palliative care program for students of all levels that integrates the basic principles of palliative care into the curriculum. The program reflects the recent development of competencies and recommendations from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The AACN is encouraging palliative care education for nursing students as the healthcare industry begins bracing for an unprecedented number of Americans who will be living with one or more chronic illnesses.

Marlene E. McHugh, DNP, assistant professor of nursing at Columbia University, tells Newswise.com, “We are reaching a moment of crisis in the United States as more and more people, especially older Americans, are living with serious illnesses and experiencing impairments in their quality of life, from pain issues to loss of function and depression. Providing every health care professional with the basic tenets of palliative care is crucial to meeting the needs of these patients.”

Palliative care focuses on the person rather than the disease, emphasizing meeting the needs of patients and families, and easing suffering. The area of palliative care includes end-of-life care and addresses the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of people with a serious illness.

“As palliative care providers, we talk to patients about what they value, what their goals are, and what their understanding is of their medical illness so that they can make decisions about next steps,” says Mary Ellen Tresgallo, DNP, assistant professor nursing at Columbia Nursing.

Columbia Nursing’s program includes a series of six End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) modules developed in partnership with the AACN. Completing the program provides entry into palliative and end-of-life care subspecialties that are available for advanced students.