| CODE | NUR5138 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Death and Dying: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Nursing | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The content for this study-unit is informed by the 'Body of Knowledge Matrix', as developed by the Association for Death Education and Counselling (ADEC) (2013). The study-unit will firstly examine historical and contemporary definitions and patterns of, and attitudes to death and dying. It will address the diverse cultural and social factors that differ across historical and social circumstances, with an emphasis placed on viewing a person's dying experience in its entirety, through an acknowledgment of the person as an individual within a context of both small and large social systems. The importance of addressing existential, spiritual and religious issues will be highlighted, in recognition of dying as more than a bio-psychosocial event and all of these influential factors (individual, cultural and social) will be addressed when examining end of life decision-making. Furthermore, the developmental challenges that arise during dying experiences throughout various stages of the lifespan will be addressed. This study unit will additionally support students to create a personal loss history and to reflect on the impact of these on their attitudes towards death and dying. Finally an exploration of how nurses' personal perspectives influence a patient and loved ones' dying experiences will be addressed, as well as professional issues such as compassion fatigue and boundaries. Study-Unit Aims: - Further develop students' knowledge of historical and contemporary definitions of, and perspectives on death; - Help the students gain an understanding of the myriad of personal, societal and cultural factors that shape perceptions of death and dying and their impact on death experiences. This would include a recognition of how and why, 'differences' often result in inequitable end of life care; - Further develop students' knowledge of challenges related to death along the lifespan; - Help the students gain an understanding of the importance of clear and inclusive end-of-life decision-making pathways, the underlying influential factors and the strategies that empower patients and their families' to guide all decisions; - Help the students gain an awareness of their personal loss history and personal perspectives on death and dying and develop an understanding of how these impact on end of life care provision. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe historical perspectives of death and dying and critically discuss contemporary definitions of, and present-day perspectives on, death and dying; - Identify the diverse societal and cultural factors that shape perceptions of death and dying and critically discuss their impact on death experiences; - Identify risk factors that could result in inequitable end of life care experiences and practice and describe multilevel strategies that could address these; - Describe challenges associated with death and dying along stages of the life-span and show an understanding of effective responses to these challenges. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Carry out a holistic assessment of a patient who is dying and his/her loved ones; - Develop a care plan with interventions that are in accordance with the patient's characteristics and wishes and within professional responsibilities; - Practice self-awareness and utilise reflective activities to minimise bias and strive for a patient-centred approach to care. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Aries, P. (1974; 2000). Western Attitudes towards Death: From the middles-ages to the present. Supplementary Readings: - Warraich, H. (2017). Modern Death: How medicine changed the end of life. St Martin's Press, New York. - Oliviere, D; Monroe, B; Payne, S. (2011). Death, Dying, and Social Differences (2nd Ed). - De Beauvoir, S. (1965; 2013). A Very Easy Death. Pantheon Books, New York. Further readings and other relevant material will be provided throughout the course. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Kurt Cassar Joanna Depares (Co-ord.) Gloria Spiteri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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