Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025
14:32
Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
23.7K
Curricular Reform in Serious Illness Communication and Palliative Care: Using Medical Students' Voices to Guide
Jennifer A Reidy1, Kate Brizzi2, Stephanie H Chan3
1J.A. Reidy is chief, Division of Palliative Care, UMass Memorial Health, and associate professor and Joy McCann Professor for Women in Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts; jennifer.reidy@umassmemorial.org.
Summary
Medical students emphasize the need for required palliative care and serious illness communication (SIC) training in undergraduate curricula. They seek practical skills development and better integration of palliative care specialists into medical education nationwide.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Palliative Care
- Communication Skills
Background:
- Undergraduate medical education often lacks comprehensive palliative care and serious illness communication (SIC) training.
- Existing curricula do not adequately prepare future physicians to care for seriously ill patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To gather student perspectives to drive the creation of required, integrated palliative care curricula in Massachusetts medical schools.
- To leverage student voices for actionable curricular change in palliative care education.
Main Methods:
- Conducted eight focus groups with 50 medical students from four Massachusetts institutions (January-May 2021).
- Utilized the immersion/crystallization qualitative data analysis approach to identify themes from focus group discussions.
Main Results:
- Students view SIC as essential for high-quality medical practice across specialties.
- A strong desire exists for required, skills-based palliative care and SIC training, preferably in real-world settings.
- Students highlighted the scarcity and misunderstanding of palliative care specialists and desired more opportunities for debriefing after difficult patient encounters.
Conclusions:
- Student feedback confirms inadequate preparation for serious illness care.
- Student perspectives provide actionable data for developing recommendations for curricular reform.
- Developed recommendations for immediate and ongoing curricular change in SIC and palliative care, applicable nationwide.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Patient-centered Care
2.0K
Patient-centered care involves delivering care beyond inpatient hospitalization. Reflective practice can enhance a patient-centered approach. Reflective practice is a process of reasoning that considers all aspects of the present situation, including practicalities, learning from personal practice, and consideration of patient needs. Patients appreciate care decisions made while considering their input. Involving the patient in their care provides the patient with a sense of contribution rather...
2.0K
01:23Techniques of Therapeutic Communication II: Focusing, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
8.0K
Focusing involves centering a conversation on a message's critical elements or concepts. Focusing is valuable if the talk is vague or patients begin to repeat themselves. Sometimes, when patients are asked about their symptoms, they may go off-topic and try to tell their entire life story. Respectfully, the nurse should bring the conversation back into focus.
This therapeutic technique can also be used when a patient brings up pertinent information during a health-related conversation. The...
This therapeutic technique can also be used when a patient brings up pertinent information during a health-related conversation. The...
8.0K
01:30Therapeutic Communication
4.5K
Communication is a lifelong learning process. Through therapeutic communication, nurses can collect relevant assessment data, provide education and counseling, and interact during nursing interventions. Sending and receiving messages occur through verbal and nonverbal communication techniques and can happen separately or simultaneously.
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
4.5K
01:25Continuing Care
1.5K
Continuing care describes the variety of health, personal, and social services provided over a prolonged period. The need for continuing care is increasing because people are living longer. Many people do not have families or others to care for them. Continuing care is mainly for patients who are disabled, functionally dependent, or suffering from a terminal disease. It is available within institutional settings or in homes. Examples include nursing centers or facilities, assisted living,...
1.5K
01:27Ethical Issues
965
Nurses are essential in patient care, upholding the ethical principles of their profession and effectively navigating ethical dilemmas. Neglecting ethical issues can lead to inadequate patient care, compromised therapeutic relationships, and moral distress among healthcare workers.
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
965
01:21Interdisciplinary Care: The Health Care Team-I
1.6K
An interdisciplinary team includes many healthcare professionals working together and utilizing their skills, knowledge, and expertise to provide holistic and quality patient care.
Physicians
The physician's primary responsibility is to diagnose illness and direct the medical or surgical treatment of the condition. The authority to admit patients to a healthcare agency or institution and practice care within that setting is granted to physicians by the healthcare agency or institution...
Physicians
The physician's primary responsibility is to diagnose illness and direct the medical or surgical treatment of the condition. The authority to admit patients to a healthcare agency or institution and practice care within that setting is granted to physicians by the healthcare agency or institution...
1.6K