The impact of palliative care education and training program on the resident physicians

Abstract

Background: Due to the advancements in medicine coupled with the aging population, palliative care has become widely needed. In many countries, medical students are trained in palliative care in their postgraduate courses. However, palliative care education is not available as an independent course or standardized training for residents in China. Methods: This parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Internal Medicine, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, between June 2016 and August 2017. The aim of the study was to explore the impact of the palliative care education and training program on 72 residents who were trained in standardization and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups at the ratio 1:1. The experimental group received resident physician standardized training and palliative care training program, while the control group received only standardized training. Standardized training included training in humanistic medical skills. The two groups were tested after training. A questionnaire survey was carried out to analyze the effect of palliative care education in humanistic medical skills. Results: The total score of humanistic medical skills assessment of residents in the experimental group was higher compared to the control group (82.92±8.39 vs. 77.36±7.41, t =2.978, P=0.004). The experimental group performed better in terms of medical skills and the ability to care for dying patients. Conclusions: Palliative care education and training program should be required for residents as it is very useful. The purpose of palliative care education is to translate the knowledge in practice, truly implement the idea of palliative care, and relieve patients of terminal discomfort. The educational promotion of palliative care is of great value in China.