Nursing Resources
The Nursing Taskforce Resources Workgroup identified and vetted resources for faculty to incorporate into teaching materials. These resources can be searched by keyword or filtered -- scroll down to review a comprehensive list. Please be sure to appropriately cite the resources from their original source.
Workgroup Members:
- Chair: Priscilla Gazarian, University of Massachusetts Boston, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Jane Flanagan, Boston College Connell School of Nursing
- Raeann LeBlanc, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing
- Jennifer Morgan, University of Massachusetts Boston, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Amanda Murphy, Ariadne Labs
- Judith Pare, University of Massachusetts Boston, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
If you have feedback or additional resources to share, please let us know
A systematic evaluation of advance care planning patient educational resources

This is a comprehensive list and evaluation of advance care planning tools. This resource gives the format, name and author, description of the ACP tool in an easy to read table, including stage of readiness to engage.
Topic: Communication, Compassionate Care, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Policy, Social Determinants of Health
Format: Article
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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Case Study of an African American Woman With Heart Failure: Ethical and Palliative Care Considerations

This is a case study of an African American heart failure patient and focuses on social determinants of health and ethics. Mrs. T's case highlights racial inequities related to access to resources and delayed communication about available services and ethical concerns in palliative and end-of-life heart failure care.
Topic: Communication, Compassionate Care, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Social Determinants of Health
Format: Article, Case Study
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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Case Study on Code Status Confusion

This is a case study describing the potential patient misconceptions about CPR and the challenges of goals of care discussions among hospitalized patients.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Ethics
Format: Case Study
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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Case Study on Preventable Transfer to the Hospital

A case study, followed by commentary describing the challenges in communication related to goals of care discussions, and the complexities of transitions between skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and hospitals.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Ethics
Format: Case Study
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Practicing Nurses
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Center to Advance Palliative Care

This website provides comprehensive resources, essential tools, training, technical assistance, and connection for all clinicians caring for people with serious illness.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Compassionate Care, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Policy, Social Determinants of Health
Format: Website
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Practicing Nurses
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Contribution from Katharine Kolcaba on the importance of comfort of carers of palliative care patients in community

Application of theory to practice can often be a challenge for students. This blog post takes Kolacaba’s Theory of comfort and applies it to caregivers of palliative care patients in the community.
Topic: Compassionate Care, Ethics
Format: Other
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level
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Death Over Dinner

Interactive website which asks the user a series of questions to facilitate thoughtful conversations about the end-of-life over dinner.
Topic: Communication, Compassionate Care
Format: Website
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Practicing Nurses
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Education for equity in palliative care: Implications for the Future of Nursing 2030 Report

This publication utilizes the AACN Essentials which underscore the value of including both palliative and hospice care within nursing curricula. The authors postulate that health equity will never be achieved until issues related to the social determinants of health, system biases and personal biases provide a foundation for education focusing on the causative factors for poor outcomes in vulnerable groups, particularly those who are living with complex medical conditions.
Topic: Compassionate Care, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Policy, Social Determinants of Health
Format: Article
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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ELNEC Schools of Nursing Faculty Corner

A website with companion teaching materials for the ELNEC curriculum, including several simulation exercises for role playing, case studies with grading rubrics, and more under "Teaching & Evaluation Tools."
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Compassionate Care, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Policy, Social Determinants of Health
Format: Website
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty
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End-of-Life Decision Making Across Cultures

Blank’s 2011 article, “End-of-Life Decision Making Across Cultures” provides a comparative analysis of end-of-life decision-making in twelve countries. The author provides demographic information. He, then, summarizes the differences by country of the cost of dying, use of advanced directives, acceptance of euthanasia, and definition of brain death.
Topic: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics, Health Policy
Format: Article
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty
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End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium - Relias Online Curriculum

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) offers an online Undergraduate and New Graduate Curriculum for entry into practice through Relias Learning. This includes six, one-hour online modules.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice
Format: Other, Video, Website
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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Ethical Considerations in End-of-Life Care and Research

This publication describes six ethical aspects of end-of-life research that investigators and clinicians should consider in designing and conducting palliative care research. These include: (1) whether a project is research or quality improvement; (2) the study's potential benefits to future patients; (3) the study's potential benefits to subjects; (4) the study's risks to subjects; (5) subjects' decision-making capacity; and (6) the subjects' choices to “voluntarily” participate in research.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Policy
Format: Article
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty
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Factors Considered Important at the End of Life by Patients, Family, Physicians, and Other Care Providers

This is a research report about what patient’s, families, and clinicians think is important at the end of life. While this article is over 20 years old, it still provides valuable information about why patient-centered care is so important.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Compassionate Care, Ethics, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Policy
Format: Article
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level
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Interprofessional family caregiving competencies and family caregiver domains of preparedness

This interactive website, from the Family Caregiving Institute at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California Davis, is dedicated to the well-being of those who care for others. They provide competencies for inter-professional teams to support caregivers and assess caregivers’ readiness to assume the role.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication
Format: Website
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment

The Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) site is a free website that provides forms, explanations, and implementation tools for patients, families, and clinicians in several languages. This site promotes a standard way to communicate, document, and honor the preferences of the patient with advanced illness.
Topic: Clinical Judgement, Communication, Compassionate Care, Ethics
Format: Website
Audience: Graduate Level, Practicing Nurses
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National Healthcare Decisions Day

This free site provides clear, concise, and consistent information on healthcare decision-making to both the public and providers/facilities through the widespread availability and dissemination of simple and uniform tools (not just forms) to guide the process.
Topic: Compassionate Care, Health Policy
Format: Website
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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On the nature of suffering and the practice of nursing

In this video, an advanced practice oncology nurse delivered a powerfully moving presentation about the nature of suffering and compassion. Suffering, he says, is feeling disconnected from being alive.
Topic: Communication, Compassionate Care
Format: Video
Audience: Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty
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Patients’ Spiritual and Cultural Values for Health Care Professionals

This resource provides both a culturally sensitive and spiritually sensitive guide aimed at providing health care staff with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to care for an increasingly diverse patient population. The text provides the reader with succinct descriptions of beliefs and practices that may be practiced by persons from various cultures or religious groups.
Topic: Compassionate Care, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Format: Other
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Practicing Nurses
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Power, Silence, and Debriefing: Hidden Harms When Palliative Teams Encounter Racism

This publication describes a sentinel event of a racist comment from a family member about diverse staff during a palliative care consult. The case study provides a vivid description of the event. The authors emphasize that the lack of support expressed by the white staff was as egregious as the comments that were made about members of the team who came from diverse backgrounds.
Topic: Communication, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Ethics
Format: Article
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Nursing Faculty, Practicing Nurses
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Professional Webinar Series from Care Dimensions

Care Dimensions offers a free webinar series on various topics related to serious illness care that rotates throughout the year, including contact hours and continuing education credits for nurses, social workers, and certified case managers.
Topic: Communication, Compassionate Care
Format: Other, Video
Audience: Associates Level, Baccalaureate Level, Graduate Level, Practicing Nurses
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