Insights from a community-based palliative care course: a qualitative study

BMC Palliative Care

Tania Pastrana¹  Eduardo Bruera²  Johannes Wüller³  Simone Weyers⁴ 

[1] Department of Palliative Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany;Department of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA;Home Care Städteregion Aachen Non-profit Limited Liability Company, Aachen, Germany;Institute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society (CHS), Düsseldorf University Hospital, Düsseldorf, Germany;

关键词: Community-based learning;    Palliative care;    Education;    Undergraduate;    Qualitative study;    Focus group;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12904-021-00769-4

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe vast majority of medical students have no exposure to clinical palliative care encounters, especially in the community. Medical schools should respond to current challenges and needs of health systems by guaranteeing students adequate training that addresses palliative care needs of populations in different settings. The main purpose of this qualitative study was to capture the experiences of a select group of medical students’ following a community-based PC course.MethodsWe carried out a qualitative study using two focus groups to capture the experience of medical students in a course that combined classroom teaching with community-based learning for undergraduate medical students in Germany. Discussions were transcribed and analyzed thematically.ResultsFifteen female students in their 2nd to 5th year participated in the focus groups, which provided didactic teaching and experiential learning. Four areas were particularly relevant: (1) authenticity, (2) demystification of the concepts of palliative care through personal contact with patients, (3) translation of theoretical knowledge into practice, and (4) observation of a role model interacting with seriously ill patients and engaging in difficult conversations.ConclusionStudents whose encounters with patients and their families went beyond a review of their medical records had a better grasp of the holistic nature of PC than those who did not. Bringing students directly from the hospital to patients in their homes reinforced the benefits of an integrated healthcare system.

【 授权许可】

CC BY