[Cognition and Ability of Emergency Physicians for Palliative Care in Tertiary Hospitals]

Objective To understand the cognition and related abilities of emergency physicians for palliative care in China. Methods A total of 115 emergency physicians were selected by convenient sampling to conduct a questionnaire survey.The questionnaire included the physicians' basic information,feelings and attitudes towards end-stage patients and their families,cognition of palliative care,and personal ability for palliative care. Results 25.2%,59.1%,and 15.7% of the emergency physicians considered they had "no understanding","partial understanding",and "full understanding" of palliative care,respectively.32(27.8%)physicians participated in palliative care-related lectures and they showed higher self-rated cognition levels(P=0.002).Wechat(39.1%),media(36.5%),and word of mouth(33.0%)were the main ways for emergency physicians to acquire the knowledge of palliative care.Among the emergency physicians,68.7% felt "powerless" in the face of end-stage patients,and 60.9% and 59.1% felt tangled and worried about death causing disputes,respectively.The emergency physicians had low self-rated ability in relieving dyspnea after removal of ventilator[3(2,4)]and eliminating the fear of death[3(3,4)].The self-rated cognition level of emergency physicians to palliative care was positively correlated with most of the self-rated ability indexes. Conclusions Lectures have a significant impact on emergency physicians' cognition level of palliative care.Most of the self-rated indexes of palliative care ability are positively correlated with the cognition level of palliative care.In the face of end-stage patients,most of the emergency physicians are powerless,tangled,and worried about disputes,and their self-rated indexes in relieving dyspnea after removal of ventilator and eliminating the fear of death are low,which necessitates relevant training.