Sylvi Flateland

To be a trained and supported volunteer in palliative care - a phenomenological study

BackgroundIt has been found that including volunteers in palliative care is a positive contribution to seriously ill patients. It is, however, recommended that the volunteers are trained and supported. The aim of this study was to describe a group of trained and supported volunteers’ lived experiences as volunteers in palliative care within the community health care services.MethodsThis study adopted a descriptive phenomenological approach featuring individual interviews with nine volunteers. The interviews were analysed using the descriptive phenomenological research method according to Giorgi.ResultsBeing a volunteer in palliative care was both a positive and meaningful experience. It was a privilege being able to help those in need, which yielded positive returns. As a volunteer, it was important to be present for the ill persons and to follow them in their various physical and psychical states, which also implied that the volunteer had to face and deal with challenging situations. However, volunteers stated it was crucial to possess knowledge and life experience, as well as a clarified role, and they stressed the importance of being followed up by a mentor.ConclusionsThe findings showed that trained and supported volunteers among seriously ill or dying people within the realm of community health care services play an independent and important role in the palliative care team. A coordinator in palliative care is especially suitable for training and supporting the volunteers.

Læring og fagutvikling i en praksiskontekst Utvikling av en modell for læring innenfor sykepleieyrket

Practical nursing in a clinical setting is an important part of Nursing Education. My intention in this article is to focus on developing a model for learning nursing by discussing a patient situation in a group. The group consists of both students and nurses, except me as the teacher. The theoretical framework of the model is built on the Social perspective on education and learning. Here is the relation between the group members, the activity in the group and the world important parts of developing this model. The relation was based on an I-you relationship, and the activity in the group was discussing the challenges in the daily work with a specific patient in the ward. The members of the group got the case described two days before the meeting. They all prepared for the meeting by reflecting how to act as a nurse in the different situations. The conversation in the group was based on the culture and on the nursing practice in that ward. By meeting each other in that group during the students practice, both the students and the nurses developed a better understanding for the daily work in the ward.