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Medical students’ attitudes towards participating in a palliative medicine course: A new specialty in Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2017

Gil Bar-Sela ,
Inbal Mitnik ,
Daniela Zalman ,
Ezequiel Flechter ,
Hedva Sheinman-Yuffe ,
Simon Vulfsons ,
Sergey Postovsky ,
Bella Smolin ,
Rachel Nave  and
Zaher S. Azzam
Gil Bar-Sela*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Inbal Mitnik
Affiliation:
Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Daniela Zalman
Affiliation:
Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Ezequiel Flechter
Affiliation:
Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Hedva Sheinman-Yuffe
Affiliation:
Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Simon Vulfsons
Affiliation:
Institute of Pain Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Sergey Postovsky
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Bella Smolin
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Rachel Nave
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
Zaher S. Azzam
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel Department of Internal Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
*
Author for correspondence: Gil Bar-Sela, Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus, POB 9602, Haifa 31096, Israel. Email: g_barsela@rambam.health.gov.il
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Abstract

Background

Palliative medicine is a growing field in Israel, and its training program is still in process. The current study aimed to evaluate students’ attitudes regarding a course in palliative care established in a division of oncology.

Method

Some 45 medical students in their 5th to 6th years participated in a one-week course on palliative care. At the end of each training week, students were asked to complete a questionnaire, evaluating their attitudes regarding different aspects of the program content, such as its importance and relevance to their training as physicians, as well as the contribution of specific parts of the program to their knowledge regarding palliative care.

Results

The overall satisfaction of the 45 students was high. The most contributory parts of the course were the multidisciplinary team and the complementary and alternative medicine. Participating in the staff meetings and accompanying physicians in their daily work were scored as the least contributory parts.

Significance of results

This preliminary study demonstrated students’ overall high satisfaction with the newly established palliative care course and their need for more practical skills. Future studies should investigate and evaluate educational programs in palliative care in order to establish suitable training for medical students.

Keywords

Medical studentsMedical students trainingPalliative medicine course
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , October 2018 , pp. 528 - 533
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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