Constance Dahlin

Constance Dahlin

Discipline: Nurse Practitioner
Funding awarded to: Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association

The Palliative Care Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Externship: A National Model

Given the shortage of palliative care specialists and the aging population, there is an urgency to educate APRNs in palliative care. While there are many educational initiatives in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, there is a dearth of opportunities for mid-career APRNs. I seek to create a national model for mid-career APRN education by extending a successful pilot program, The Palliative Care APRN Externship Model, which targets Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse Practitioners who lack access to academic palliative care education or programs. By extending the pilot to a national model, more APRNs will have the opportunity to obtain primary palliative care skills.

“Over the past two years, I have been developing a pilot project for mid-career advanced practice primary palliative nursing education. I think it has implications not only for APRNs but for other disciplines. The education model builds upon adult learning principles that I experienced throughout my career, specifically integrating didactic and clinical observation. My model harnesses the interest of the mid-career providers in providing palliative care to strengthen access and quality care for those with serious illness. In order to establish myself as a well-rounded leader in palliative care, I seek to gain knowledge and skills in business principles such as health care finances, forecasting, and business strategies for palliative care. This will allow me to promote palliative nursing not only from a clinical and ethical perspective, but also from an economic perspective, and will offer me the opportunity to build a national primary palliative care education model for mid-career providers.”