Evaluation (Qualitative)

During the training sessions, many nurse participants expressed concerns over their lack of medical knowledge and confidence in conducting end-of-life conversations. More specifically, many claimed that they were not sure how to properly address the technical questions raised by the care recipients that fell inside the medical scope, for instance, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and life expectancy. Regarding this seemingly unmanageable situation, a simple yet inspiring solution was provided to the participants — it is not necessary to respond to these unanswerable questions. Instead, it is more important to explore and address the hidden agenda or emotions underlying these difficult questions. From this, participants recognized that medical knowledge and qualifications are not prerequisites of successful end-of-life conversations. Because of that, their confidence and motivations in conducting end-of-life conversations were substantially improved.