Undergraduate medical palliative care education: a new Canadian perspective.

Abstract

Prior to 1 year ago, undergraduate medical palliative medicine education at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, was limited to a 1-hour didactic session and one-half day patient visit. A new integrative curriculum has allowed for increased educational exposure to palliative care for medical students. Topic content has expanded and different teaching modalities are used to aid learning. A highlight of the program is Bus Rounds where small groups of students visit terminally ill patients in either a hospice or home setting. After their training, the students performed well on two examination questions dealing with palliative care issues.