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Using Learning Outcome Measures to assess Doctoral Nursing Education
Published on: June 21, 2010
A needs assessment for a palliative care curriculum.
W A Ury1, C B Reznich, C M Weber
1Section of General Internal Medicine, Saint Vincent 's Hospital, New York, New York 10011, USA.
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
|December 29, 2000
Summary
A thorough needs assessment is crucial for developing effective palliative care training for internal medicine residents. This systematic approach identified learner needs, resource gaps, and institutional barriers, leading to a successful curriculum implementation.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Palliative Care
- Curriculum Development
Background:
- Palliative care training for internal medicine residents is a new and evolving area.
- Formalized palliative care education in internal medicine is limited.
- National curricula may not address institution-specific needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline a systematic methodology for conducting institution-specific needs assessments for palliative care curricula.
- To identify educational, clinical, and institutional factors influencing palliative care training development.
- To inform the creation of a tailored palliative care curriculum for internal medicine residents.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review and expert interviews.
- Institution-specific needs assessment utilizing anonymous surveys, focus groups, topic rankings, and individual interviews.
- Analysis of educational, clinical, and institutional data.
Main Results:
- Interns reported minimal prior palliative care exposure.
- Lack of formalized palliative care education and clinical experience was identified.
- Significant interest in palliative care education exists among trainees and faculty.
- Patients, families, and healthcare professionals perceive a need for improved palliative care.
- Political, logistical, and resource constraints were recognized as obstacles.
Conclusions:
- Institution-specific needs assessment is vital for successful curriculum development and implementation in medical residency programs.
- The identified needs and obstacles informed the development of a targeted palliative care curriculum.
- A ten-unit, case-based and problem-based curriculum was successfully implemented following the needs assessment.
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