Developing spiritual and religious care competencies in practice: pilot of a Marie Curie blended learning event

Abstract

The Marie Curie Cancer Care (2003) Spiritual and Religious Care Competencies for Specialist Palliative Care provide a common language for healthcare practitioners in the nebulous area of spiritual care. The development of a pilot blended learning event, as described in this paper, sought to integrate the competencies into practice by providing opportunities both online and in the classroom to explore this aspect of holistic care in depth. In the planning stages, multiprofessional focus groups determined the level of delivery, and emerging themes shaped the content. Self-awareness and reflection were key features and part of the overall process to improve competency. The features of the virtual learning environment (VLE) used were video, facilitated asynchronous discussion and direct links to key articles and documents, while interactive classroom activities built on prior learning. Evaluation covered all aspects of the course design from participant and facilitator perspectives. Participant comments were overwhelmingly positive in relation to the content and chosen delivery methods with concerns about online learning proving unfounded.

Distance learning for updating health professionals in palliative care: a systematic review

“…Five articles reported educational initiatives were aimed at nursing: Two for community nurses,11 25 two for hospital-based nurses24 29 and one for nurse specialists in palliative care 32. Three initiatives addressed physicians: One for community and general practitioners,10 one for primary care physicians34 and one for doctors in general 35.…”

“…Two other courses, on the other hand, were focused on the decision-making process in palliative care clinical practice 30 31. Another course focused on team leadership and teaching methods in palliative care,28 while others focused on the anthropology of death,29 spiritual and religious care,24 pain assessment,32 and palliative care in oncology 33. An overview of the topics covered in all of the courses are described in box 1.…”

“…Nine of the 14 articles included mixed courses as an educational approach,11 24 25 27–31 35 offering teachers to ask questions, run on-site classes and undertake workshops. The other five courses, however, used an online approach 10 26 32–34.…”

“…Based on this, several methods appear to be thoroughly undertaken by teachers, including reading the text,11 24–35 case studies in groups and individually,10 11 24 27 28 30–33 videos,24–26 29 31 audio recordings,29 images,27 questions with objective answers,24 27 29 32 33 discussion groups,24 25 33 35 quizzes,30 31 workshops,28 30 35 PowerPoint presentations,24 poetry readings,29 scientific journals,29 interviews with family members in mourning,29 portfolios,35 simulation cases34 and practical activities 27 31. Two were based on the ‘principles of constructivism’,10 25 one being completely taught by a facilitator and the other one following a mixed approach (ie, self-directed study and facilitator).…”

“…Half of the 14 included studies used as means of evaluating pretest and post-tests 11 25–28 31 32. The other half had only post-tests 10 24 29 30 33–35. These tests were performed in a self-administered form, with a small number of questions, in order to facilitate data analysis.…”