Because nurses are the healthcare providers who spend the most time with patients and their families at the end of life, baccalaureate nursing students should be adequately prepared for this role before they graduate. However, many undergraduate nursing programs fail to provide adequate end-of-life content, and many undergraduate nursing students often do not have the opportunity to care for dying patients during clinical rotations. Faculty in an undergraduate community health nursing course incorporated an end-of-life clinical experience using high-fidelity patient simulation to allow students to provide holistic care to a dying patient and his family in a safe learning environment. The simulator was used to play the role of the dying patient, and a course faculty member acted as the patient's daughter. Students were given the role of the hospice nurse. At the end of the experience, students expressed a greater understanding of the pathophysiology at the end of life, as well as enhanced communication skills. Because many nursing students may not encounter an actively dying patient during their clinical rotations, high-fidelity patient simulation is an effective mechanism for providing students with exposure to end of life. KEY WORDSend-of-life care, nursing education, simulation D espite the growth in hospice and palliative care and the publication of undergraduate nursing competencies for providing quality end-of-life (EOL) care, 1 EOL content continues to be inadequate in undergraduate nursing curricula, 1 and both new graduates and qualified nurses report not feeling adequately prepared to deliver EOL care. 2 Nursing programs in the United States typically focus their curricula on acute care interventions in the context of medical-surgical nursing and cover EOL content sparingly, 3 and EOL content is typically limited to lectures that may be scattered throughout various courses. 4 In addition to providing theoretical content related to EOL care, nursing programs should incorporate hands-on experiences that will allow students to recognize their own feelings and expectations about death while demonstrating respect for the patient's and family's views, concerns, and wishes during EOL care. 1

Objective:Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. EI is increasingly discussed in healthcare as having a potential role in nursing. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the causal relationship between EI scores and the traditional academic admission criteria (GPA) and evaluation methods of a baccalaureate nursing program.Methods:The sample included second semester upper division nursing students (n = 85). EI was measured using the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT).Results:The results of the statistical analysis (MANOVA, ANOVA and Pearson correlational coefficient) found no significant relationships or correlations with the current methods of evaluation for admission to nursing school or the evaluation methods used once students are in the nursing program.Conclusions:These results imply that assessing a nursing student's EI is measuring a different type of intelligence than that represented by academic achievement. Based on the findings of this study and the current state of nursing education, EI abilities should be included as part of the admission criteria for nursing programs.

Emotional intelligence (EI) includes the ability to perceive, facilitate, understand, and manage emotions. EI impacts the quality of care nurses provide to patients as members of the health care team. The purpose of this study was to determine if measured EI of nursing students changed during a professional nursing program. A quantitative longitudinal correlational design was used to measure EI scores of nursing students at the beginning and end of a baccalaureate nursing program. Findings include a statistically significant decrease of total EI scores over time, as well as a significant decrease in two of the ability subscales.

Although EI and CT scores were not significant in this study, it remains vital to incorporate EI and CT activities throughout the curriculum to develop students' ability to think like a nurse and, therefore, be successful in nursing practice. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(6):351-355.].