Findings from a Clinical Learning Needs Survey at Ireland's first children's hospice

Abstract

Purpose: Caring for children with life-limiting conditions places exceptional demands on health professionals. Staff require the optimal skills and expertise necessary to provide the highest quality of care and to achieve this it is essential to understand their learning requirements.

Aim: The aim is to share the main findings from a Clinical Learning Needs Survey conducted at LauraLynn, currently Ireland's only children's hospice. To date no other Irish service has conducted a formal identification of professional learning and development needs specific to the Irish context. The findings from the study assist workforce planning by providing a glimpse into the immediate study needs of staff working in a children's palliative care setting. The study had two main aims: a) Assist clinical staff within one organisation to identify their own professional learning priorities in children's palliative care and b) Inform the design and delivery of a responsive suite of workshops, programmes and study sessions for children's palliative care.

Results: The study identified the key learning needs as end-of-life care, palliative emergencies, communication skill development and bereavement support.

Conclusion: These findings are similar to those found internationally and demonstrate the commitment of a new organisation to ensure that specific employee learning requirements are met if the organisation and wider specialty of Irish children's palliative care is to continue its evolution.

Keywords: Children's palliative care; Education provision; Learning needs.