Nurses' knowledge and comfort levels using the Physician Orders for Life-sustaining Treatment (POLST) form in the progressive care unit

Many patients are admitted to the hospital with an active Physician Orders for Life-sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form; however, not all registered nurses (RNs) are familiar with the form or comfortable with initiating a discussion about end-of-life care. Evidence indicates that an education program...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geriatric nursing (New York) 2015-01, Vol.36 (1), p.21-24
Main Authors: McGough, Nancy N.H., Hauschildt, Barbara, Mollon, Deene, Fields, Willa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advance Care Planning - organization & administration
Advance Directives - statistics & numerical data
Attitude of Health Personnel
Clinical Competence
Cross-Sectional Studies
Education, Nursing
Elder care
End-of-life
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-Based Practice
Female
Geriatrics
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Life Support Care - organization & administration
Male
Nurse's Role - psychology
Nurses
Nursing
Palliative care
Patient Care Team - organization & administration
POLST
Progressive care unit
Progressive Patient Care
Surveys and Questionnaires
Terminal Care - organization & administration
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Summary:Many patients are admitted to the hospital with an active Physician Orders for Life-sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form; however, not all registered nurses (RNs) are familiar with the form or comfortable with initiating a discussion about end-of-life care. Evidence indicates that an education program increases RNs' knowledge and utilization of the POLST form. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to answer the question: among the RNs in a progressive care unit (PCU), does implementing a formal evidence-based practice POLST program compared to current practice increase RNs' knowledge and comfort level using the POLST form? A pre-post education survey was used. Results indicated a POLST education program increased PCU RNs' knowledge and comfort level in using the POLST form. It is recommended to include POLST form education for PCU RNs in workplace education programs.
ISSN:0197-4572
1528-3984
DOI:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2014.09.001