Palliative and end-of-life care curricula in prelicensure nursing education.

• No previous studies have been conducted in the United States to discover the palliative care self-competence of faculty who teach in prelicensure programs or to determine the integration of palliative care curricula within prelicensure nursing programs. • This study found a weak to moderate significant relationship between faculty participants' reported palliative care self-competency and the inclusion of the palliative care content in prelicensure programs, with no significant differences between ADN or BSN programs. • Curriculum and evaluation committees should explore the aims of this study within their programs and make appropriate recommendations for inclusion. Faculty should seek support for attending professional development through formal training programs. Hospice and palliative care are generally not taught in medical or nursing schools. The study aimed to discover the palliative care self-competence of pre-licensure nursing faculty and to establish if the palliative care competencies from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing are utilized within nursing programs in the United States (U.S.). Surveys (1710) were emailed to accredited programs using a systematic sampling plan, yielding a 4.3% response rate. Participants (N = 73), with 42% from associate degree (ADN) programs and 58% from baccalaureate (BSN) programs, reported they possessed the ability to meet the 17 palliative care competencies. Still, only ten of the 17 competencies were included in at least 75% of the programs. There were no statistically significant differences in perceived competence between faculty that taught in ADN compared to BSN programs (p = 0.138). A weak to moderate relationship was found between the faculty participants' reported palliative care self-competency and the presence of palliative care competencies in pre-licensure nursing programs in the U.S. The results suggest that faculty need staff development and display an urgency to re-invigorate the promotion of palliative care nursing education for faculty and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]