Miss Janice Bartley1, Miss Abbey Franz1, Mrs Andrea Haines1, miss Lilli Seyfried1
1Tasmanian Health Service, HOBART, Australia
Biography:
Janice, Abbey, Andrea, and Lilli are Clinical Nurse Educators within the Tasmanian Health Service’s Centre for Education. Representing four specialist portfolios—Palliative Care, Cancer Services, Surgical Services, and Neurosurgery—they champion excellence in contemporary nursing education. Their collective approach blends clinical insight with strategic curriculum design to support a resilient, skilled workforce. United by a commitment to professional standards and learner-centred practice, they deliver high-impact education that meets the evolving needs of nurses.
Abstract:
Background:
As demand for palliative care grows across Tasmania, a skilled and educated nursing workforce is essential to ensure equitable access to high-quality, person-family-centred care. Targeted education is critical to supporting workforce sustainability by developing nurses’ clinical reasoning and clinical competency in palliative care provision.
Aims:
To redesign and deliver a palliative care professional development program for nurses within a large public health service, using contemporary, evidence-based education theory. To establish structured learning outcomes that align with national palliative care standards. To support participants to translate learning through quality improvement projects in clinical settings.
Methods:
The program restructure used a cognitive constructionist framework with mixed-method delivery. Curriculum design was informed by Blooms Taxonomy of learning with emphasis on higher-order thinking, experiential learning, and the translation of knowledge into clinical practice. Peer-learning theory drove collaboration with specialist clinicians and industry stakeholders. Content was rigorously aligned with national healthcare and palliative care standards.
Results:
Evaluation using the Kirkpatrick model revealed high learner satisfaction. Formative and summative assessments demonstrated enhanced clinical reasoning, strong multidisciplinary collaboration, and clear application of learning to practice. Participants developed 17 work integrated projects resulting in service improvements across multiple care settings.
Conclusion:
An innovative cognitive constructionist approach to palliative care nursing education design, complemented by mixed-method delivery, can effectively upskill nurses and foster meaningful practice change. Embedding experiential learning and collaborative curriculum design supports the delivery of holistic, high-quality palliative care, promotes collaboration between peers and services, and enables equity of access across the sector.