Competence Statements

Graduate Competencies And Recommendations for Educating Nursing Students (G-CARES, 2nd. ed.)

Advanced-level nurses should achieve the following by the end of their formal nursing education:

  1. Articulate the value of palliative care to patients, families, interprofessional team members, and the public.
  2. Facilitate access to palliative care as standard practice across the disease trajectory and healthcare settings for persons with serious illness and their families.
  3. Respond to dynamic changes in population demographics, socio-economic factors, the healthcare system, and emerging technologies to improve outcomes for persons with serious illness and their families.
  4. Demonstrate leadership guided by principles of ethics, social justice, equity, and moral courage in the advancement of quality palliative care.
  5. Engage in strategic partnerships with interprofessional colleagues and community stakeholders to influence policies and quality improvement activities related to primary palliative care.
  6. Contribute to the development and translation of evidence-based palliative care practice in clinical, administrative, and academic settings.
  7. Utilize advanced palliative care communication skills with patients, families, and team members as appropriate to one’s functional area of nursing practice and the professional context.
  8. Promote delivery of care that supports holistic assessment and management of pain and symptoms common in serious illness at the full scope of practice.
  9. Collaborate with healthcare team members to coordinate culturally sensitive, patient-centered, and family-focused palliative care across care settings.
  10. Consult with specialty services for complex palliative care issues that exceed one’s functional area of practice and educational preparation.
  11. Advocate for environments of care that uphold the dignity of the patient and family during the dying process and after death through culturally sensitive and compassionate end-of-life care.
  12. Contribute to an environment that fosters well-being for self, patients, families, and team members to cope with suffering, grief, loss, and bereavement.

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