Credit bearing module Care at the End of Life
Explore care at the end of life and develop knowledge to inform your understanding and professional practice.
Key facts
- Duration
- Part time: One semester
- Level
- Continuing professional development (CPD)
- Academic level
- 7
- Academic credits
- 20
- School
- Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery
About this course
This single practice-focused module explores death and dying from a professional practice perspective. This includes discussion of the principles of palliative care and notions of a 'good death'. You will evaluate ethical, legal and professional frameworks, and policy and service provision, and their applications across different cultural and practice settings.
You will develop a critical awareness of the dying process and symptom management, communication and assessment, viewed within their cultural context. In the process, You will develop greater self-awareness of your attitudes to death, dying and loss, and how these impact on the dying person and their families.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
You must be from a respective healthcare background and have support from the clinical manager to undertake this module of study.
Fees and funding
Fees
| Fee types | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Home distance learning | £1,000 per single module, where taken as part of an award-bearing course the module fee is £1,260 |
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page.
Questions about fees?
Learning and assessment
Teaching and learning is based around 6 learning units, each of which runs over a two week period, giving students flexibility of access and time management.
Students will have opportunities to:
- Engage in guided text-based learning activity
- Engage in online discussion forums
- Use a learning log for personal reflection
- View films online and listen to Podcasts
- Experience seminar presentations using Articulate
- Take part in online tutorials
Outline Units of learning:
- Culture, death and dying; spirituality; culturally sensitive care
- Principles of palliative care, the ‘good death’, communication specific to the end of life: ‘being with’ the dying person, talking about dying
- Policy frameworks for end of life care, leadership and service development in palliative care
- Legal and ethical issues in end of life care; mental capacity, advance care planning artificial hydration and nutrition, assisted dying
- The dying process and recognising dying, complex symptom management at the end of life, supporting families and children
- Care after death; loss and bereavement, resources for patients and families
Assessment
100% Coursework. Reflective essay
How to apply
Apply through our Moodle Portal.
You will need to register for the portal prior to proceeding with an application.
Our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, so module availability and course structures may vary from what is listed here. On rare occasions, we may also need to make updates to our course programmes after publication; for full details, please visit our changes to programmes page (opens in a new tab)