RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Are family medicine residents adequately trained to deliver palliative care?
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP e577
OP e582
VO 61
IS 12
A1 Mahtani, Ramona
A1 Kurahashi, Allison M.
A1 Buchman, Sandy
A1 Webster, Fiona
A1 Husain, Amna
A1 Goldman, Russell
YR 2015
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/61/12/e577.abstract
AB Objective To explore educational factors that influence family medicine residents’ (FMRs’) intentions to offer palliative care and palliative care home visits to patients.Design Qualitative descriptive study.Setting A Canadian, urban, specialized palliative care centre.Participants First-year (n = 9) and second-year (n = 6) FMRs.Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with FMRs following a 4-week palliative care rotation. Questions focused on participant experiences during the rotation and perceptions about their roles as family physicians in the delivery of palliative care and home visits. Participant responses were analyzed to summarize and interpret patterns related to their educational experience during their rotation.Main findings Four interrelated themes were identified that described this experience: foundational skill development owing to training in a specialized setting; additional need for education and support; unaddressed gaps in pragmatic skills; and uncertainty about family physicians’ role in palliative care.Conclusion Residents described experiences that both supported and inadvertently discouraged them from considering future engagement in palliative care. Reassuringly, residents were also able to underscore opportunities for improvement in palliative care education.