Evidence-Based Practice Core Curriculum and Life Care Planning Methodology

A life care plan (LCP) outlines life-long needs with associated costs for individuals (clients) with catastrophic illnesses and injuries. Nursing science has created a significant body of knowledge to guide the discipline of nursing practice and has expanded the scientific underpinnings of the discipline (DNP Essentials, 2015). Life care planners must also rely on scientific evidence or knowledge to optimize long-term outcomes for their clients. Nurses prepare a significant volume of life care plans, and are either self-taught or attend one of four national educational programs. The nursing process is the preeminent problemsolving approach used by programs taught exclusively for nurses. Evidence-based practice is not well emphasized in current curriculums that prepare nurses for certification through the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners (AANLCP) and the International Academy of Life Care Planners (IALCP). Methodology utilizing evidence-based practice works in harmony with the nursing process, and when successfully integrated, can elevate practice beyond current frameworks disseminated in available curriculums. This project pilot tested one module of an alternative, evidence-based academic curriculum for life care planners. Objectives for this project included (a) design an academic life care planning curriculum for nurses to prepare them for national certification, (b) enlist 10 students to pilot test one module of the curriculum, (c) assess student attitude, motivation, and knowledge by completion of a pre- and posttest questionnaire, and (d) disseminate the results and findings to the University of Utah College of Nursing or the Department of Continuing Education, and gain support for inclusion as part of the curriculum. Completion of the objectives of the project included (a) conferring with content experts regarding curriculum content, (b) instructing students through one module of the curriculum, following Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, (c) reviewing the results of the pre- and posttest questionnaire, and (d) presenting the results of the questionnaire to the University of Utah stakeholders to elicit feedback and support for inclusion as a curriculum offering. Nurses who seek to become proficient in the new specialty field of life care planning typically have years of related clinical expertise, but they are not experts in life care planning. To make a successful transition to an evidence-based method of life care planning, they must also have a good basic understanding of the basics of evidence-based practice. The project results revealed that although the students involved in the pilot test expressed an interest in and a need for this type of methodology, their basic understanding of EBP was not solid. Modifications to the curriculum will be made to include a primer on EBP to make the transition into life care planning seamless.