Palliative care initiatives are needed in nephrology, yet implementation is lacking. We created a 6-hour workshop to teach the skills of active listening, responding to emotion, and exploring goals and values to nurses and social workers working in dialysis units. The workshop consisted of interactive didactics and structured role play with trained simulated patients. We assessed preparedness using a Likert scale and utilized paired t tests to measure the impact using a self-assessment survey following the training. Ten nurses and two social workers from six dialysis units completed the training. Mean scores improved in all domains: demonstrating empathic behaviors, responding to emotion and end-of-life concerns, eliciting family’s concerns at end-of-life and patient’s goals, and discussing spiritual concerns. Further testing in larger samples may help to confirm these results.

Continuing Education Instructions and Disclosure Information:

Contact hours available until 12/31/2023.

Requirements for Successful Completion:
Complete the learning activity in its entirety and complete the online nursing continuing professional development evaluation. You will be able to print your NCPD certificate after you complete the evaluation.

Disclosure of relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies (planners, faculty, reviewers, authors):

Editorial Board Disclosures:
Paula Dutka, MSN, RN, CNN, discloses that she is a consultant for Rockwell Medical.

All other members of the Editorial Board had no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this nursing continuing professional development education activity.

Author(s) Disclosures:
The author(s) reported no actual or potential conflict of interest.

Commercial Support:
No commercial support declared.

This article was reviewed and formatted for contact hour credit by Beth Ulrich, EdD, RN, FACHE, FAONL, FAAN, Nephrology Nursing Journal Editor-in-Chief, and Sally Russell, MN, CMSRN, CPP, ANNA Education Director.

Accreditation Statement:
The American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

ANNA is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 17499.

This NCPD article meets the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission’s (NNCC’s) continuing nursing education requirements for certification and recertification.

ANNA urges participants to be aware of the CE requirements for re-licensure in the states in which they hold a license.

Learning Outcome:
After completing this learning activity, the learner will have increased appreciation for the need to improve nurses’ preparedness in addressing palliative care and advance care planning with patients on dialysis.

Robert A. Cohen MD

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