Fifth-Year Medical Students' Knowledge of Palliative Care and Their Views on the Subject

Background and Objective: While palliative care is becoming more important in today's health system, the major barrier to improving the quality of palliative care appears to be health professionals' lack of knowledge. The objective of this study is to evaluate medical students' knowledge on palliative care and their views on palliative care in clinical practice. Methods: This study was a descriptive, single-center, questionnaire-based survey conducted on fifth-year medical students. Questionnaires were distributed to 250 fifth-year medical students. The standard Palliative Care Knowledge Test was used to assess the level of knowledge in palliative care and a questionnaire was given that included 34 questions about their views on palliative care. The data of the 175 students who answered the questionnaires were evaluated. Results: The mean age of the students was 22.7-1.2, and 55.4% of them were male. Approximately 64.6% of the students stated that the education on palliative care was insufficient and 90.3% stated that they did not receive any training on communication skills regarding palliative care patients. Stating that the use of opioids was insufficient in cancer patients were 34.3%, with 54.3% saying that pain management was insufficient. Approximately 61% of them stated that they observed that the primary physicians did not do much and only monitored the disease and were not interested in symptom control, psychosocial support, or rehabilitation. The Palliative Care Knowledge Test results revealed a high percentage of incorrect answers about symptom control. Conclusions: It was observed that medical students trained to become tomorrow's physicians had inadequate knowledge on palliative care; the curriculum had a shortfall on this subject; and health professionals did not pay attention to this subject in clinical practice. The results of our study will provide guidance in preparing the curricula of health professionals and in planning the subjects of postgraduate education.