As a Dementia Nurse Consultant, one of the core remits of my role is to support research and development within the field of dementia care. This often involves working in collaboration with a range of academic and healthcare professionals and people with dementia and their family carers to develop research proposals, evaluate research and audit data, and develop peer reviewed articles for publication.
Most recently, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work in collaboration with our local Delirium Nurse and Dementia Trainer, to support the development of a peer reviewed Continuing Professional Development (CPD) article for the RCNi Nursing Older People journal on the topic of “The role of nurses in supporting advance care planning (ACP) for people living with dementia”. A brief abstract from the article, its aim and intended outcomes is detailed below:
Abstract:
Dementia is a life-limiting condition and a leading cause of death in the UK and globally. ACP (which in Scotland and Wales now falls under a broader approach termed Future Care Planning) is of particular relevance to people living with dementia due to the gradual loss of decision-making capacity and ability to communicate that they typically experience. However, many people living with dementia are not given the opportunity to undertake ACP. As a consequence, their end of life care needs often remain unmet. As part of the multidisciplinary team, nurses are well placed to engage people living with dementia and those close to them in timely ACP conversations so that the person’s future care aligns with their expressed values, wishes and preferences. Collaborative healthcare services that normalise ACP as part of routine dementia care and provide staff with ACP training and mentoring are essential for supporting nurses to undertake ACP with people living with dementia and their families.
Aim:
The article aims to support nurses in their role of assisting people with dementia and their families to plan for future care.
Intended Outcomes:
Reading the article and completing the time out activities can help you to:
· Recognise the importance and relevance of ACP in dementia care.
· Understand the principles of ACP and the tools available to support this process.
· Identify enablers and barriers to ACP in dementia care, and how to overcome them.
· Describe person-centred approaches to ACP for people living with dementia.
· Promote ACP as an essential component of person-centred dementia care across all health and social care settings.
Reading the article and completing the time out activities can also be used as evidence of revalidation.
Would you like to read more?
You can access the article if you are an RCNi Plus subscriber or via your institutional log using the link below:
Role of nurses in supporting advance care planning for people living with dementia
Further enquiries are also welcome by email to: Susan.Holland@aapct.scot.nhs.uk