GRADUATING MEDICAL-STUDENTS COMPETENCES AND EDUCATIONAL-EXPERIENCES IN PALLIATIVE CARE

Palliative care involves an interdisciplinary approach to patient care and specific clinical skills. Little prior research on palliative car e education has involved medical students, and the few reported studie s focus mainly on student attitudes. This study describes a needs asse ssment of senior medical students based on a newly developed competenc y-based palliative care curriculum. Prior to graduation, 102 senior st udents were mailed an anonymous survey with four parts: a self-assessm ent of attitudes, knowledge, and skills; adequacy of instruction; expo sure to specific clinical experiences; and demographic information. Th e response rate was 47%. While attitudinal goals were strongly endorse d by students, they were less confident with regards to knowledge and skills. Ratings varied across the five content areas of the curriculum . The results suggest a need for educational efforts more focused on s pecific clinical competencies as well as systematic evaluation of stud ent competencies. (C) U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee, 1997.