The Canadian Palliative Care Education Group, a committee of the Canadian S
ociety of Palliative Care Physicians, carries out surveys from time to time
on the status of palliative care education in Canadian medical schools. We
describe the organization of the Canadian Palliative Care Education Group
and report on a survey carried out in the 1996-97 academic year. Our data s
uggest that the emphasis on palliative care varies widely amongst the 16 Ca
nadian medical schools, in concert with the availability of academic staff
positions in palliative care. We conclude that the need for palliative care
education is supported by rhetoric which remains to be matched by proporti
onate tangible investment.