title: End-of-life decisions: a comparative survey on (teaching) experiences, views, and ethico-legal knowledge of final-year medical students in Germany and France.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research on the teaching experiences and knowledge of medical students on end-of-life decisions in medicine is important because it provides information on the competency of future doctors with respect to an important field of clinical practice and can support the development of a curriculum.
  
  
  METHODS
  A multiple-choice and free-text survey on the teaching experiences and knowledge of final-year medical students at the universities of Bochum (Germany; n=212) and Tours (France; n=108) regarding end-of-life decisions in medicine was conducted during the last months of their studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results indicate that even though students had training in ethico-legal aspects of end-of-life care and participated in clinical practice there is considerable lack of knowledge among students with respect to the ethico-legal framework for the limitation of treatment at the end of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study indicates that even with the recent changes in both medical schools there seems to be a further need to prepare students better for end-of-life issues.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moehring
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schildmann
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vollmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult