Palliative Care Nursing focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and their families facing life limiting illnesses.
Palliative Care Nurses provide physical, emotional and spiritual support helping patients to manage their symptoms, make informed decisions about their care and navigate their illness.
Working life
Working as a palliative care nurse will mean that you work within the multidisciplinary team with other healthcare professionals but are the main contact for patients who are on a palliative pathway, providing their consistent care. Building a trusting relationship with each patient is essential.
Palliative care nurses work in various settings including hospitals, hospices, patients homes and community settings. Hospice nurses across mid and south Essex provide vital end-of-life care at Havens Hospices, Farleigh Hospice and St Luke’s Hospice. They offer specialised pain management, emotional support, and practical help to local families facing difficult times, ensuring patients spend their final days with dignity in familiar surroundings across our region.
You’ll need to take lots of factors into account and juggle priorities to get the best possible results for your patients.
Working as a palliative nurse will provide you with a variety of activities to undertake throughout your working day which can include:
Managing symptoms of your patients and ensuring they remain as comfortable as possible.
Provide compassionate care and understanding to patients and their families.
Support your patient and their family to cope with the challenges of a life limiting illness.
Support patients to make decisions about their care including end of life preferences.
Provide emotional support to patients’ families and help them understand their loved ones condition and how they can help.
Work with other members of the multidisciplinary team to create and implement plans for your patient.
Provide supportive and compassionate end of life care to patients ensuring their comfort and dignity.
Requirements
To become a palliative care nurse, you will need to be a Registered Nurse first. The main route is through a nursing degree course at university. Entry requirements for these courses can vary depending on where and how you’d like to study, so it’s important to check with universities.
Typically you’ll need a minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4/C or above, possibly in English language or literature and a science subject. You’ll also need two A levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications, such as a T level or BTEC to take an undergraduate degree. Some universities may ask for three A levels or equivalent. If you already have a degree, you might be able to study for a postgraduate qualification.
If you’re eligible, you’ll receive at least £5,000 a year towards your studies while at university. Your personal circumstances may mean you could receive more. And the good news? You’ll never have to pay it back.
There are other routes into adult nursing such as nurse degree apprenticeships and nursing associate apprenticeships but this will depend on the employer you work for and which apprenticeships they provide.
Whatever route you choose to undertake, you will need to meet the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and be registered before you can practice.
Once you are qualified and registered, you would then need to undertake specialised training or education in palliative care. This could include advanced degrees like an MSc, postgraduate diploma (PGDip), or postgraduate certificate (PGCert) in palliative care nursing. Additionally, some roles may require experience in related areas like community nursing or working with patients with life-limiting conditions.
Working as a palliative care nurse will also allow further opportunities to develop your career through apprenticeships and internal training in the future.
Degree apprenticeship route
For those interested in becoming an adult nurse through an apprenticeship route, there is a degree apprenticeship programme available with some providers in mid and south Essex.
To access the pathway, you would need to be employed by an NHS Trust in a Healthcare Support role first. This role will give you clinical and patient experience while you develop knowledge and build skills. You will need to be over 18 to be employed in any clinical role, have achieved English and Maths GCSE at a grade 4 or above and must have a substantive contract of at least 30 hours a week for future eligibility onto the apprenticeship pathway.
Once you have secured employment in a healthcare support worker role, you would need to spend at least 6 – 12 months in this job gaining your Care Certificate, which is proof of your fitness to practice. before you will be eligible to access the apprenticeship route to Nursing.
If your employer is able to support your development from a health care worker, you would then be able to apply for the trainee nurse associate apprenticeship which is a 2 year programme or the 4 year registered nurse degree apprenticeship depending on which pathway the employer you work for uses.
You would receive 20% of your work time as study leave which can be given either in a block week or one day a week depending on the university and your NHS employer would pay the fees for the programme from their apprenticeship levy fund.
Once you have completed your apprenticeship, you would become a qualified Nurse Associate or Registered Nurse and can then work in this role.
Personal characteristics
To work successfully within the palliative care team, you need to consider your own personal characteristics. You would need to have the following attributes or similar:
Be accurate and methodical and have good attention to detail
Be able to assess a situation quickly
Be emotionally resilient and prepared to work in unknown or unpredictable situations
Be able to work as part of a team but also able to use your own initiative
Be able to work with all people from various backgrounds with different experiences
Be able to stay calm under pressure
Have a high level of empathy
Be culturally sensitive and understand and respect diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs
Skills required
To work successfully with the palliative care team, you need to consider the skills that you have. You would need to demonstrate the following:
Be well organised and able to plan your time
Be able to communicate with a variety of people using different methods
Have positive people skills
Be patient, caring and kind
Be able to reassure those who may be anxious, scared, angry or distressed
Be able to make decisions
Be able to verbalise complicated information and ensure this is understood
Be able to work alone where required
Be resilient and able to manage complex problems
Be flexible in your way of working
Training and development opportunities
When you begin to work as a palliative care nurse, you will receive the training you require to be able to undertake the role successfully. You will receive an induction which will introduce you to the department you will be working in, will support you in accessing the IT systems and will ensure you are aware of the policies and procedures you will be required to follow in the undertaking of your role. You will also have to complete any statutory and mandatory training that your employer requires such as fire training, data security training and customer service.
As part of your training, you will be required to be competent in moving and handling, first aid, life support and basic patient skills. Some of these training programmes will require practical assessments and written exams.
Career development opportunities
Once you have experience working as a palliative care nurse, there are many other roles you could progress into. You could lead a team, become a supervisor or develop your career into management. You could also gain experience and qualifications in other specialist areas such as oncology, community care or working in children’s palliative care.
You may also be able to use your skills and experience to teach or research. The possibilities with nursing are endless.
Pay and benefits
Palliative care nurses usually work 37.5 hours per week and you will be required to work shifts which can include nights, evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
Palliative care nurses in the NHS are paid using the Agenda for Change (AfC) system and Registered Nurses who are qualified will typically start their career on AfC band 5 but with experience, further training and additional qualifications, can progress further up the pay scale.
Other benefits of working within the palliative care team include access to a pension scheme, health service discounts such as a Blue Light Card and 27 days of annual leave in addition to bank holidays.
Palliative Care Nursing in mid and south Essex
“I was drawn to palliative care because of my strong passion for supporting families through some of the most challenging times in life. Having experienced the benefits of good palliative care first-hand when a family member was being cared for at Fair Havens, I understand the importance of care that enables families to focus on spending meaningful time together.
“Supporting families starts with talking about the process, helping them know what to expect, and being there to listen, whether it’s sharing stories, looking at photos or offering a hug. We also try to ease the everyday pressures by helping with care tasks, cooking, or treating them to their favourite takeaway.”
Lucy Layzell, Sister Senior Nurse at Little Havens
“Allowing people to express how they truly feel and what their fears are is so important. Always be honest when they ask questions but also be mindful not to take away the hope that helps them get through the day.”
“Every day brings its own rewards. Knowing you have helped people when they are at their lowest, most dreaded times and made that a little easier to bear, or have provided comfort, helped ease pain or suffering. Families and the children make every day full of surprises, challenges and joy.”
Lauran Boulton, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Little Havens
“It is important to communicate well, listen to the individuals needs and understand how they are feeling. Remember we are all individuals, and we manage situations in different ways, so it is important to be kind.”
“Asking the patient what matters most to them at the end of their life is one of the most supportive things I can do. This empowers them to retain a sense of choice and control over their care.”
Karen Bryan, Palliative Care Nurse at Farleigh Hospice
