Palliative care education integrated into a geriatrics rotation for resident physicians. J Palliat Med 2004 Oct;7(5):652-9
Date
12/14/2004Pubmed ID
15588356DOI
10.1089/jpm.2004.7.652Scopus ID
2-s2.0-8544224317 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 18 CitationsAbstract
The authors present the curricular elements of a palliative care experience for internal medicine residents at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center (ZVAMC), Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To improve resident physicians' knowledge and skills in palliative care, a structured clinical/educational experience was integrated into an existing required geriatrics rotation for senior medicine residents. Each month, two residents rotate simultaneously in the palliative care and the geriatrics evaluation and management units at the ZVAMC. The curricular elements of palliative care include prognostication, assessment and management of pain and nonpain symptoms in end-of-life care. The geriatrics component emphasizes mechanisms of aging, pathophysiology of common geriatric diseases, clinical pharmacology and psychosocial aspects of geriatric care. Teaching methods include direct patient care, bedside teaching rounds, lectures, and multidisciplinary and family meetings. Rotation design avoided conflicting time demands on the residents. In a prerotation/postrotation knowledge self-assessment questionnaire, residents (n = 28) indicated significant knowledge improvement in all palliative care domains taught during the experience. The rotation was well integrated into the existing curricular elements in geriatrics and palliative medicine at MCW. This combined rotation can serve as a reference for educators interested in developing new or enhancing existing palliative care training programs.
Author List
Montagnini M, Varkey B, Duthie E JrAuthor
Edmund H. Duthie MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Clinical CompetenceCurriculum
Geriatrics
Hospitals, Veterans
Humans
Internship and Residency
Palliative Care
Schools, Medical
Wisconsin