Building Consensus
Editorial
Consultant Editor Philip Larkin Editor Peter Black email ijpn@markallengroup.com Sales Manager Roger Allen email roger@markallengroup.com Editorial Make-Up Peter Constantine Production Manager Jon Redmayne Associate Publisher Liam Benison Publisher Matt Cianfarani Managing Director Mark Allen
Building consensus ave you ever begun walking up a steep hill when it has been raining and misty, the route that you need to take is not clear, and the ground is wet and muddy underneath – you know that you need to reach the top but you are not sure how to get there. Then suddenly the mist clears, not only can you see the top where you are aiming for, but the path to reach it has become clear. This reflects the experience of the recent ANTEA Worldwide Palliative Care Conference 2008 in Rome. Eleven nurses from across the world had been invited to take part in a workshop in order to produce an international consensus document around palliative care nursing education with respect to educational goals, educational pathways and the skills and competencies required of palliative nurses. As we started the workshop, the way ahead seemed unclear – was it going to be possible to reach consensus regarding educational goals, pathways and competencies for palliative nurses and how would we achieve this in such a short time? Yet, as the workshop unfolded, it became clear that despite the differences in nurse education, in culture, and resources around the world, as nurses we had agreement about what it is palliative nurses should be able to do, and the need for education and training. Much work has been done in different countries with regard to competencies for palliative care, not just for nurses, but for the multidisciplinary team as a whole. While we believe in the multidisciplinary nature of palliative care and the need for multidisciplinary training, we were also clear that nurses have a unique and pivotal role to play in the provision of palliative care and that this
Consultant Editor Philip Larkin Editor Peter Black email ijpn@markallengroup.com Sales Manager Roger Allen email roger@markallengroup.com Editorial Make-Up Peter Constantine Production Manager Jon Redmayne Associate Publisher Liam Benison Publisher Matt Cianfarani Managing Director Mark Allen
Building consensus ave you ever begun walking up a steep hill when it has been raining and misty, the route that you need to take is not clear, and the ground is wet and muddy underneath – you know that you need to reach the top but you are not sure how to get there. Then suddenly the mist clears, not only can you see the top where you are aiming for, but the path to reach it has become clear. This reflects the experience of the recent ANTEA Worldwide Palliative Care Conference 2008 in Rome. Eleven nurses from across the world had been invited to take part in a workshop in order to produce an international consensus document around palliative care nursing education with respect to educational goals, educational pathways and the skills and competencies required of palliative nurses. As we started the workshop, the way ahead seemed unclear – was it going to be possible to reach consensus regarding educational goals, pathways and competencies for palliative nurses and how would we achieve this in such a short time? Yet, as the workshop unfolded, it became clear that despite the differences in nurse education, in culture, and resources around the world, as nurses we had agreement about what it is palliative nurses should be able to do, and the need for education and training. Much work has been done in different countries with regard to competencies for palliative care, not just for nurses, but for the multidisciplinary team as a whole. While we believe in the multidisciplinary nature of palliative care and the need for multidisciplinary training, we were also clear that nurses have a unique and pivotal role to play in the provision of palliative care and that this