Medical trainee perceptions of medical school education about suffering: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
The relief of suffering is a fundamental goal of medicine, but what medical students are taught about suffering has been largely unexplored.


OBJECTIVE
This pilot study explored the perceptions of physicians in postgraduate training of their medical school education about suffering.


METHODS
Survey research involving physicians in postgraduate family medicine training programs.


RESULTS
One hundred eighty-four of 304 surveys were returned for a response rate of 61%. Respondents perceived significant gaps in their education about the understanding and diagnosis of suffering and in their preparation to deal with the feelings engendered by caring for suffering patients. Respondents generally perceived that they were prepared to interact with suffering patients and were taught that the relief of suffering is an inherent function of being a physician, but perceived that more explicit teaching about suffering would have better prepared them for residency training.


CONCLUSIONS
Perceptions of the teaching about suffering at the medical school level are quite variable with significant curricular gaps in student instruction about suffering and its relief.
Egnew
Thomas R
TR
Tacoma Family Medicine, 521 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, WA 98405-4238, USA. tom.egnew@multicare.org
Schaad
Douglas C
DC
D000328:Adult; D000413:Alaska; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003625:Data Collection; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007061:Idaho; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009009:Montana; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012938:Social Perception; D012984:Software; D013337:Students, Medical; D014861:Washington