Context backgroundEPICCs primary objective is to reduce the gap and disconnect between professional regulatory bodies’ statements and aspirations for high quality spiritual care, and actual nursing practice.Spirituality is multidimensional and unique to every person. Broader than religious beliefs, it is about meaning in life, connection to self, others, and/or higher power or nature. It provides ways to transcend everyday living and suffering. EPICC will guide improvements in the way spiritual aspects of nursing/midwifery care is taught by promoting excellence in spiritual care education and developing an innovative Matrix/toolkit. The Matrix/toolkit will be presented as a standard with a structured approach to address spiritual needs of patients. It will be delivered in a health care Higher Education context. Learning programs can be accredited based on the standard. 1. Develop a sustainable network of educators in nursing/midwifery in Europe to share experiences on person centered and compassionate healthcare working according to European standards.2. Disseminate knowledge among stakeholders (policy makers, regulatory bodies, educational bodies) across Europe to enable the Matrix incorporated into ongoing nursing/midwifery educationNumber and profile of participants - Description of activitiesThe following describes how and in which activities the participant groups will be involved throughout EPICC. Transnational meetings: EPICC Strategic Partners 6, EPICC Participants 12, students and patient public representatives. Plus unfunded local representatives from front-line nurses, professional regulatory and key stakeholder groups 4. Total attending maximum of 20.Teaching and Learning Events: EPICC Strategic Partners 6, EPICC Participants 36 EPICC Participants+ 8, patient public representatives, local students, professional regulatory /key stakeholder groups, up to 8.Multiplier Events: EPICC Strategic Partners 6, EPICC Participants 36, EPICC Participants+ 58, broken down as follows students 15, patient public representatives 10, front line nurses 10, professional regulatory 6, and key stakeholder groups 6. The remaining 11, places will be allocated to nurse educators from priority countries. There will be maximum capacity for 100 participants at the multiplier events. The composition of the EPICC Participants+ group will change for each Multiplier event to maximise engagement and impact.The main beneficiaries of EPICC who are not directly involved in the project will be those patients receiving nursing and midwifery care in institutions associated and affiliated to the EPICC Strategic Partners and EPICC Participants. EPICC will achieve this by raising awareness of the importance of spiritual aspects of nursing practice through curriculum innovation.MethodologyThrough the methodology of a series of facilitated Action Learning cycles (Revans, R. W. 2011. ABC's of Action Learning. Burlington, VT: Gower) all the participants will co-create and develop a Matrix for spiritual care education and associated adoption toolkit derived from their own experiences. The newly developed Matrix will guide improvements in the way spiritual aspects of nursing care are integrated and taught within nursing curricula. These developments will initially be undertaken locally in participating organisations with a view to expansion into other HEI in the future. EPICC will provide a sustainable network so that ongoing curriculum development in spiritual care can be supported, monitored and evaluated.Results Envisaged impact and Potential long term benefitsThe project will develop the knowledge, skills and expertise of nurse educators by providing them with a standard for continuing professional development thereby adding to the skills of local and European labour market, and meeting the labour market needs of an active and aging population.All outputs from EPICC will be submitted to participating countries professional regulatory bodies to inform the ongoing development of policy and practice guidance. This will ensure that nursing students receive adequate preparation in the provision of spiritual care.EPICC will enhance the quality and skills set of student nurses in participating institutions by ensuring they have the right professional values, attitudes and behaviours to provide high quality and safe nursing care. In the long term EPICC will contribute towards ensuring a consistent approach to learning and teaching about spiritual aspects of care.These approaches will be based upon sound evidence and educational theory. Lessons learned from the EPICC pilot programme will be reviewed and recorded so that an historical record is maintained. Finally, EPICC will strengthen informal networks by establishing an EPICC network. This network will continue to direct, shape and influence nursing education, research and practice across Europe.
The EPICC project has laid the foundations to reduce the gap and disconnect between professional regulatory bodies’ statements and aspirations for high quality spiritual care, and actual practice. Spirituality is multidimensional and unique to every person. Broader than religious beliefs, it is about meaning in life, connection to self, others, and/or higher power or nature. It provides ways to transcend everyday living and suffering. The project outputs are guiding improvements in the way spiritual aspects of nursing/midwifery care are taught internationally by promoting excellence in spiritual care education and offering a standardised approach to the teaching of these concepts. During the project, 200+ have contributed to the development of a Spiritual Care Education Standard comprising 4 core competences for integration within programmes of education. Implementation of the Standard will offer a structured approach to the teaching of these subjects preparing nurses/midwives to address patients’ spiritual needs. The EPICC objectives were to: 1. Develop a sustainable network of educators in nursing/midwifery in Europe to share experiences on person-centred and compassionate healthcare working according to European standards. 2. Disseminate knowledge amongst stakeholders (policy makers, regulatory bodies and educational bodies) across Europe to enable the EPICC Gold Standard Matrix to be incorporated into ongoing nursing/midwifery education. The project involved 3 key groups: 6 EPICC Strategic Partners, 31 EPICC Participants (nursing/midwifery educators from across Europe and 18 EPICC Participants+ (key stakeholders, students, members of the public, professional bodies, patient groups) collectively known as the ‘EPICC Triangle’. In total, participation was from 21 countries from across Europe. Four Transnational Project Meetings involved EPICC Strategic Partners, and a combination of EPICC Participants and Participants+. The total attendance across the 4 meetings was 51 (30 funded and 21 non-funded). Two Learning/Teaching/Training Activities (LTTAs) were held, the first at Viaa Christian University and a total of 52 attended across the 5 days (October 2017). The second was led by the University of Malta (September 2018). Across the 5 days a total of 110 attended. The first Multiplier Event (E1) was held at Staffordshire University (April 2017) with 61 attending across the two days. The final Multiplier Event was held in Cardiff at the University of South Wales (July 2019) with over 120 attending. At this event, all the EPICC intellectual outputs were presented and shared and the EPICC Network launched. This ensured the sustainability of the project and provided a basis for the ongoing integration of the Spiritual Care Education Standard into curricula, enabling the impact to be captured. The main beneficiaries of EPICC, not directly involved in the project, were patients receiving nursing/midwifery care in institutions associated and affiliated to the EPICC Strategic Partners and EPICC Participants. The methodology employed co-production, involving a series of facilitated Action Learning cycles and consensus surveys to create the 4 competences and all the key outputs, including: a Spiritual Care Education Standard, Gold Standard Matrix (and narrative) for Spiritual Care Education, and the Adoption Toolkit. All the outputs are based on current evidence and derived from the participants’ own experiences. The high level of engagement means all the outputs have been rigorously reviewed and subject to intense testing, ensuring they are fit for purpose. The Spiritual Care Education Standard will guide improvements in the way spiritual aspects of nursing/midwifery care are integrated and taught within curricula. The resources will also support the continuing professional development of the future and current workforce thereby adding to the skills of the local and European labour market. All the outputs will inform dialogue with participating countries’ professional regulatory bodies to update policy and practice guidance. EPICC has informed the delivery of nursing/midwifery education internationally and will continue to enhance the quality and skill set of student nurses/midwives in participating institutions as the outputs become embedded in programmes. This will ensure that students have the professional values, attitudes and behaviours to provide high-quality, compassionate and safe nursing/midwifery care. In the long-term, EPICC will ensure a consistent approach to teaching and learning about spiritual aspects of care. The entire EPICC journey has been documented and recorded on the EPICC website providing an historical record of the work undertaken and the significant achievements. Finally, the most important legacy of the project is the establishing of the EPICC Network. This will continue to direct, shape and influence nursing/midwifery education, research and practice globally in the future.