Palliative care: the insecurity of medical students facing patients in terminal stages of life

Abstract

Objective: To understand the insecurities of medical students about palliative care in terminally ill patients. Review bibliographic: Since training, the medical professional needs to be committed and trained in relation to the preservation of life. The presence of suffering within environments with patients in terminal stages affects the health professional emotionally. When acting in situations in which pain causes, the medical student is constantly exposed to suffering, which ends up emotionally destabilizing him. In addition, most medical students consider it extremely important to adopt content focused on palliative care in the medical curriculum. This demonstrates that students recognize the importance of this topic beyond academic life, that is, for their careers, and consider it essential to be prepared, regardless of the area chosen to specialize. Final considerations: Therefore, although students recognize the importance of studying palliative care for their careers, they still feel unprepared as to how to face terminally ill patients.