Journal of palliative medicine
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Review Comparative Study
Undergraduate curricula in palliative medicine: a systematic analysis based on the palliative education assessment tool.
By law in 2013, palliative medicine will be integrated into the undergraduate curriculum as part of a mandatory training program and examinations at German medical schools. For this reason a national curriculum in palliative medicine has to be developed. ⋯ There is an overlap between objectives presented in the PEAT and in the curricula, suggesting that there are "core objectives" such as "respect for differing values," "bereavement process," and "use of opioids" which might be mandatory for undergraduate palliative medical education.
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The "International Paediatric Palliative Care Course" (IPPCC) was held for the second time in Germany. The goals of the course were to impart knowledge and skills, to share experience and network, and to improve multiprofessional work. ⋯ The IPPCC was designed to meet the challenges arising for the multiprofessional participants coming from a variety of professions, countries with diverse resources, needs, and approaches to practice. Future courses might include additional sessions on research, development of pediatric palliative care services, as well as discipline-specific sessions. Funding is necessary to specifically support professionals coming from low-income economies.
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Multicenter Study
An educational intervention to improve resident comfort with communication at the end of life.
Approximately 20% of deaths in the United States occur in the intensive care unit (ICU). Physician trainees lack the practical communication skills required for end-of-life care, including establishing patient preferences, participating in shared decision making, discussing prognosis, and delivering bad news. Utilizing facilitated, case-based, peer interactions, we sought to assess the feasibility and impact of a novel resident curriculum in end-of-life education. ⋯ The teaching sessions offered in this study were well-attended and well-received by residents. Our curriculum impacted resident reports of comfort with specific topics in end-of-life care, including discussions of code status and comfort care. Furthermore, we found that this curriculum, although brief, demonstrated a small impact on resident reports of self-efficacy for communication. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating end-of-life communication skills training into an existing internal medicine resident curriculum.