Integrating Palliative Care Screening in the Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Project

Activity Summary

Required reading for all learners: Implicit Bias impacts patient outcomes

Despite recommendations by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, palliative care remains underused, with variations in care delivery such as delayed consultation in the critical care setting. For this project, we identified a need to improve the palliative care process for patients admitted to the ICU in a community hospital in which palliative care consultation traditionally was at the discretion of the attending physician.

Objectives

Describe the benefits of early palliative care referral to identified hospitalized patients.
Identify patient risk factors for unmet palliative care needs.
Discuss implications for practice with implementation of a screening tool to improve patient access to palliative care services.

Continuing Education Disclosure Statement

Successful Completion

Learners must complete the entire activity and the associated evaluation to be awarded contact hours AND read Implicit Bias impacts patient outcomes. No partial credit will be awarded.

Accreditation

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider number CEP 1036, for {contactHours} contact hours.

Disclosures

Any relevant relationship between an ineligible company and an individual with the ability to influence clinical content will be identified by the Nurse Planner within the activity. Any relevant relationship between an ineligible company and an individual with the ability to influence clinical content has been mitigated.

Accreditation refers to recognition of continuing education only and does not imply AACN, ANCC, or CBRN approval or endorsement of any commercial products discussed or displayed in conjunction with this educational activity. Activities with pharmacology hours are to assist the APRN in fulfilling the pharmacotherapeutic education requirements for licensure and certification renewals.

Activities meet the standards for most states that require mandatory continuing education for license and/or certification renewal. AACN recommends consulting with your own state board of nursing or credentialing organization before submitting your certificate of completion.

Refund Policy

Continuing Education Activities are nonrefundable.