Opinions of Physicians Graduating from Kyushu University Medical School about an End-of-life Care Course Taken 10 Years Earlier / 医学教育

Opinions of young physicians about a course on end-of-life care which they took at the Kyushu University Medical School 10 years earlier were analyzed. Fifty-seven (23%) of 247 graduates responded to a questionnaire. All clinicians had been involved in end-of-life care to some extent. All respondents agreed that a course about end-of-life care should be included in the medical school curriculum. In general, they thought highly of the course on end-of-life care that they took in medical school. They thought that such a course should last 10 to 20 hours and should be given after the end of clinical lectures and before the start of clinical training. The respondents suggested a good basic policy would be to attach importance to contemplating the end of life rather than to simply memorizing information about end-of-life care.

Factors Considered Important for a Terminal Care Curriculum / 医学教育

A 21-hour education program for fifth-year medical students in terminal care was started at Kyushu University in 1991 with the participation of more than 20 lecturers from different specialties. Problems encountered as this curriculum was introduced are discussed. We believe that establishing a professorship in terminal care is essential for improving this curriculum.