Planning and development of empathic educational pedagogical practice in the process of death and dying: A pilot test

Abstract

Objective: To describe the process of developing an Empathic Educational Pedagogical Practice on the process of death and dying with nursing students.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out in a public university with 47 students. For the development of this educational practice, low-cost materials elaborated by the professors themselves were used. A pilot test was developed with students from the fifth phase of the nursing course, where these students had the opportunity to dive into the context of empathy, besides developing communication, welcoming and active listening skills. The students' feelings towards the development of this practice were also identified. For data collection, a semi-structured questionnaire was used, with analysis using simple descriptive statistics and content analysis.

Results: The students had the opportunity to experience stages related to the process of death and dying, which involve the news of palliative care; communication of death and coping with the grieving process. As for the feelings before death, the following emerged: fear, emptiness, sadness, end. In the skills, the students scored the development of active listening (100%), identification of the different stages of mourning (85.5%) and the ability to empathize with situations of death and dying (100%). 85% of the students considered it an excellent pedagogical strategy.

Conclusion and implications for practice: The pedagogical practice allowed the experience of empathy, identification of feelings and the compression of the scenario of death and dying. In addition, it was interpreted by professors and students as a tool capable of supporting future professionals who will develop health care for people who experience the process of death and dying.