title: Are geriatric medicine fellows prepared for the important skills of hospice and palliative care?
abstract: Many geriatricians care for terminally ill and dying patients, but it is unclear whether the current geriatric medicine fellows receive sufficient training in hospice and palliative care (H&PC). A national cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and June 2011 to determine fellows' experience and perceived competency with H&PC. Fellows (143 of 298, 48%) and program directors (PDs; 69 of 150, 46%) answered the surveys on paper or online. Three-fourths of the fellows planned to practice H&PC; however, only 35% fellows versus 42% PDs believed that fellows were well prepared in this area. Factors associated with fellows' self-reported better preparation included completion of an H&PC rotation, experiences with an inpatient hospice facility, inpatient palliative care consulting service, and the presence of a formal H&PC curriculum.
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University Greenville, NC, USA caoq@ecu.edu.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Tae J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Stella M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University Greenville, NC, USA Campbell University Buies Creek, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nye
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hamrick
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Shivajirao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Steinweg
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000193:education*; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: curriculum; geriatrics; hospice; national survey; palliative care; training