• Kelly L Wu, Jennifer Friderici, and Sarah L Goff.
• Baystate Medical Center , Springfield, Massachusetts.
• J Palliat Med. 2014 Jan 1;17(1):80-4.

Background8,600 children are eligible for palliative care services each day in the US, yet many pediatric residents and pediatricians do not feel comfortable providing palliative/end of life care.ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of a palliative care team (PCT) on pediatric and internal medicine/pediatric (IM/Peds) residents knowledge, comfort level and experience providing pediatric palliative care (PPC).DesignElectronic 32-item questionnaire.SubjectsPediatric and IM/Peds residents at ACGME accredited programs during the 2011-2012 academic year.MeasurementsResidents' PPC training, knowledge, comfort levels and experiences.ResultsNearly two-thirds of 294 respondents (63.6%; 95% CI: 58.2, 69.1) selected a description of PPC that describes palliative care as starting at the time of diagnosis regardless of treatment goals. Participants who reported the presence of a PCT at their institution selected this accurate description of PPC more often than those who did not report the presence of a PCT (72.3% vs. 53.3%; p<0.001, Fisher's Exact Test). Overall, 55.3% (95% CI: 49.2, 61.3) were comfortable providing PPC. Reporting the presence of a PCT was also associated with more comfort in providing PPC (p<0.01).ConclusionsReported presence of a PCT may be associated with greater resident comfort in providing PPC and a more accurate understanding of PPC. There remains ample opportunity to educate pediatric and IM/Peds residents in PPC.

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