Arts-Based Reflection on the End of Life: Nursing Student Narrative Analysis

Abstract

Nurses play an essential role in providing compassionate evidence-based care at the end of life, yet many undergraduate students have limited opportunities to participate in end-of-life care experiences. Arts-based pedagogy has been explored as a strategy in nursing education that focuses on the affective domain of learning. The purpose of this qualitative narrative analysis was to explore the impact of an arts-based reflection assignment on student affective learning using artistic images depicting end-of-life scenarios. Student written narratives (n = 21) were analyzed using content analysis, and four themes emerged that described the components of affective learning in several areas.