Palliative care training in medical undergraduate education: a survey among the faculty

Background A minority of European countries have compulsory training in palliative care within all medical schools. The aim of the study was to examine palliative care education in Estonia. Methods We used the adapted version of the Palliative Education Assessment Tool (PEAT) to evaluate palliative care education at the University of Tartu, the only medical school in Estonia. The PEAT comprises of different palliative care domains and allows for assessing the curricula for palliative care education. Results 26 hours (h) of palliative care is taught within the basic medical curriculum, which is divided between 14 courses. Ethical issues (4 h, lecture and seminar) and basics of palliative care (2.5 h, lecture) are well covered however, pain and symptom management (12.5 h, lecture, seminar, workshop), psychosocial, spiritual aspects (5.5 h, seminar), and communication (1.5 h, lecture) teaching do not reach the recommended number of hours. Teamwork and self-reflection are not taught at all. Conclusions Increased time, more diverse teaching strategies and clear learning outcomes are required to enable the development of palliative care education in Estonia. The teaching and learning of palliative care is a process that requires constant development and collaboration.