Ireland, the UK and Europe: a review of undergraduate medical education in palliative care.
Palliative Care is an important and emerging medical speciality, formally recognised by the Irish Medical Council in June 1995. Three years previously, in 1992, the Association of Palliative Medicine for Great Britain and Ireland published an official curriculum for undergraduate medical education in palliative care. The European Association of Palliative Care held a workshop the following year and reported that, with the exception of the UK, education for medical students is incomplete. This review examines the evidence that European undergraduate medical education in palliative care is underdeveloped. Key elements of effective undergraduate teaching programmes in this discipline are identified. Finally, it is noted that little has been written about undergraduate palliative care education in Irish medical schools; the situation in this country is thus unknown. A study to determine current education in palliative care in Irish medical schools is required.
Dowling
S
S
Department of Family Medicine and General Practice, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin.
Broomfield
D
D
D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D010166:Palliative Care; D006113:United Kingdom