Objective To reform teaching contents and methods in end of life care education for baccalaureate nursing students and to explore the effect. Methods Thirty-two students on a four-year baccalaureate nursing education program enrolled in 2014 were served as the control group and 32 students enrolled in 2015 as the experimental group. The control group was given conventional teaching method that provides theoretical lectures prior to practice, while the experimental group employed PAD teaching that divides theoretical teaching contents into four themes and integrates cases in the whole teaching. Results There was no significant difference in theoretical test score between the two groups (P>0.05). Performance in standardized patient test and teaching satisfaction in the experimental group were significantly higher compared with the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion PAD teaching method applied in end of life care education is beneficial to students′ mastery of knowledge and skills, and enhances their satisfaction with teaching.