Background The hospice model of care is held as the model of excellence for delivering high quality care to dying patients. However, only a small number of patients in the UK actually die in a hospice with the majority of patients dying in hospital. The major challenge faced by specialist palliative care services has been the transfer of best practice from the hospice setting to other care settings such as the acute hospital. At the Hollier Simulation Centre an end of life care course has been developed for all band 5 and 6 nurses within the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, using the novel teaching modality of high fidelity simulation.

Aim To look at the impact high fidelity simulation teaching has on participant confidence and their perception of their knowledge and skills in end of life care.

Method The study used a mixed method approach with a combination of pre and post course focus groups and pre and post course questionnaires. The focus groups transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. The free text information from the questionnaires were used to support the themes developed from the focus group analysis. Two separate cohorts were used for this study.

Results Analysis of the data revealed that the use of high fidelity simulation to teach end of life care did have a significant impact on the participants confidence, knowledge and skills. Additionally, the facilitated debrief sessions within the course were found to be beneficial these encouraged self reflection, peer teaching and constructive feedback within a safe environment.

Conclusion The use of high fidelity simulation to teach end of life care does have a positive impact on the participants' confidence and their knowledge and skills. Further studies are needed to compare the use of high fidelity simulation to teach end of life care with other teaching modalities.