BMJ supportive & palliative care
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Mar 2019
Confidence in palliative care issues by medical students and internal medicine residents.
Palliative care (PC) is a relatively new field in Brazil, but this knowledge is of great importance in medical practice. ⋯ Residents were more confident than all of the medical school students except those in their fifth year (P<0.05) because they have more contact with terminally ill patients than other students do; fifth-year medical students are likely overestimating their abilities.
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Mar 2019
'It's a hard conversation to have'. Healthcare professionals' views concerning advance care discussions with young people affected by life-limiting neuromuscular diseases: an interview study.
Life-limiting neuromuscular disease, such as some of the muscular dystrophies, are often diagnosed in early childhood: when death comes, commonly in the second or third decade of life, patients rarely have advance care plans in place or documented end-of-life care preferences. There is very limited literature concerning the discussions about end-of-life plans healthcare professionals have with young people affected by life-limiting neuromuscular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the views and experiences of healthcare professionals concerning having discussions about advance care plans and end-of-life care with teenagers and young adult patients affected by life-limiting neuromuscular diseases. ⋯ Community-based professionals with well-established relationships with patients and families may be best placed to take the lead and coordinate discussions, but individual case-by-case preferences need to be carefully considered.