Developing competency among interns in palliative care of critically ill patients

Abstract

Background: Palliative care has become increasingly important in the last decades with a rise in needy patients and subsequent shortage of health care professionals serving palliative care, making it a global public health concern. Patients and methods: Educational interventional study conducted in the Department of Anaesthesi-ology of a tertiary care teaching institute. Pre-and post-tests by standardized validated multiple choice questions for assessment of knowledge and awareness were conducted before and after the session. Interactive didactic lectures integrated with faculty narrative from the Department of Palliative Care, demonstration among small groups, and live demonstration on patients under the aegis of the Anaes-thesia Department were given after the pre-test. A feedback questionnaire in the form of a Likert scale for assessment of students’ satisfaction and attitude was done at end of a session. Results: Fifty (50) interns participated in the study. Out of 50, 28 (56%) were male and 22 (44%) were female interns. The mean pre-test score was 8.82 ± 2.13 (range 4–12) out of a total of 20. The mean post-test score was 14.44 ± 1.72 (range 11–17). The pre-and post-test results difference was significant (p < 0.0001). The percentage gain in knowledge and awareness was 63.95%. Conclusions: Most professionals will need basic skills of various management modalities in supportive therapy in near future to fully fill the demand for palliative care which is going to be doubled within the next few decades so the need for conducting more such sessions regularly amongst young budding doctors including interns at a very early stage to develop competency for palliative care was observed. Palliat Med Pract 2023; 17, 1: 14–18