A New Curriculum for Palliative Undergraduate Medical Education in Finland: A Qualitative Documentary Analysis.

Abstract

A new, national competence-based curriculum of palliative medicine (PM) undergraduate teaching has recently been created to support mandatory PM education in Finnish medical schools. To analyze the Finnish curriculum (FC) of PM and compare it with the European EDUPALL curriculum. A qualitative documentary analysis was used to compare contents, learning methods, and delivery of teaching recommended in both curricula. The FC provides practical and detailed instructions for learning core, important, and good-to-know knowledge of PM, both in a dedicated course and within other subjects. The structure of the FC is in accordance with EDUPALL. The FC (81 hours) makes up 1% of the total teaching volume of a six-year Finnish medical degree and is larger than EDUPALL (72 hours). The new FC aligns with the updated European Association for Palliative Care curriculum. The FC provides graduating physicians with sufficient basic knowledge of PM.