Educating for Quality End-of-Life Care in Acute Hospitals

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By Dr Caroline Phelan, Flinders University

 

Acute hospitals are busy, highly structured environments, primarily focused on diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Yet, for many people admitted to hospital, dying remains an inevitable outcome. Providing safe, high‑quality end‑of‑life care depends on clinicians recognising when goals of care are shifting and feeling confident to respond with appropriate clinical and communication skills.

Recognising the Role of Educators

During National Palliative Care Week, we take a moment to recognise the role of educators and clinical trainers who work in end-of-life care.  Often behind the scenes, they play a vital role in helping staff navigate this shift. Their work supports timely, person‑centred end‑of‑life care, strengthens clinical practice, improves the experience for patients and families, and contributes to safer systems of care.

Clinical educators in end‑of‑life care are usually experienced clinicians themselves. They bring together advanced knowledge with strong teaching and leadership skills, helping doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals feel better prepared to care for people who are dying, often in settings that may feel poorly equipped for this work.

More Than Symptom Management

Importantly, education in this area extends far beyond symptom management. It includes complex issues such as recognising dying, responding to clinical uncertainty, navigating ethical decision‑making, and managing the shift from life‑prolonging treatment to comfort‑focused care.

Clear, effective communication is central to this work, including how to discuss prognosis, goals of care, and treatment limitation in ways that are clinically accurate and compassionate.

Teaching and Supporting Clinicians in Practice  

Delivering education in busy hospital environments can present practical challenges.

Competing clinical priorities, high workloads, and staff turnover can make it difficult for staff to attend formal training. In response, educators often adapt their approaches by embedding education into daily clinical practice. This may include brief “just‑in‑time” teaching during ward rounds, short learning sessions at handover, or the use of flexible online resources that staff can access as needed. These practical approaches allow essential knowledge to be shared without adding to time pressure.

Educators also provide important support to clinicians grappling with uncertainty or distress related to end‑of‑life decisions. Recognising changes in goals of care can be challenging, particularly for less experienced staff. Education plays an important role in normalising these transitions and reinforces that good end‑of‑life care is a core clinical skill, not a failure of treatment.

Why Education Matters

Well-designed education has a direct and measurable impact on care. When clinicians are trained to recognise dying, manage symptoms appropriately, and communicate clearly, unnecessary interventions are reduced, comfort is improved, and families report feeling better understood and supported.

Importantly, the benefits extend beyond individual patients. Education strengthens workforce capability, reduces variation in practice, and builds clinician confidence. Over time, this contributes to a hospital culture where end‑of‑life care is recognised as an essential component of quality and safety, rather than an exception.

End‑of‑life care is an area that requires continual learning. Clinical evidence evolves, patient populations change, and healthcare systems face ongoing pressure. Those training people in end-of-life care support this ongoing development by connecting clinicians with the latest evidence and fostering shared understanding across disciplines.

Resources such as End-of-Life Essentials play a key role in this process. By offering free, evidence‑based online education tailored to acute care settings, End-of-Life Essentials supports educators to deliver consistent, high‑quality training at scale. These resources complement local education efforts and help reduce gaps in knowledge and practice.

High‑quality end‑of‑life care does not occur by chance. It is the result of deliberate education, skilled leadership, and sustained investment in workforce development. Clinical educators are central to this effort.

Access Free Educational Resources

End-of-Life Essentials has specific training resources available for you or your team, including:

• Resources to download
• An Online Learner Pathway to follow
• A webinar to watch
• Merchandise to share.

Find them on the End-of-Life Essentials National Palliative Care Week page.

Dr Phelan teaches into the Postgraduate Palliative and End of Life Care programs at Flinders University and is an active clinical and health professional education researcher, and the Chief Investigator for End-of-Life-Essentials.