PALLIATIVE CARE IN MEDICAL SCHOOLS: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction and objective: The Palliative Care (PC) appears as an interdisciplinary humanitarian and recent philosophy in Brazil. Knowing the importance about this topic in clinical practice and in the Primary Health Attention, the aim of this review was to analyze the function of medical students in this scenario. Method: This study is a bibliography review, qualitative, that had as research source the virtual library PubMed, using the descriptors: “Medicine Academic” AND “Palliative Care”, “Medical Academic Student” AND “Terminal Care”, “Medicine Student” AND “Hospice Care”. Ten articles were selected with publication date from 2013 and corresponded with the desired theme. There were obtained 136 articles, excluding 14 repeated and 112 that did not correspond with the desired theme. Results and conclusion: It is noted an inclusion of PC in under graduate curricula worldwide. It was observed in a cohort study in Cambridge a growing of consciousness of the academic responsibilities in other to support terminally ill patients preparing for the end of life. Others searches showed inexperience internal front of the dying process, 41% said that had never saw a doctor acting with a terminal patient. A study showed that curriculum based on PC turn the student more secure and decreases the afraid of doctors front of this situation. This review reveals, then, the necessity of education in PC in the curriculum providing to students a reflection about death and teaching them how to lead this in a balanced way.