Medical students emphasized that education in palliative care helped them to be better formed, regardless of the specialty of their choice later on, as it deals with issues related to end of life and the knowledge of care at this stage is essential for all doctors. This was revealed in an investigation by ATLANTES, research group at the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra. The research work was published in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. According to Almetric, it is the second article in this publication with more online impact.

The aim of the study was to explore the students' reactions of the School of Medicine in an elective course on palliative care. The course made them think about the discipline by writing on this subject. In total 316 students participated for over four years.

The response rate of 90% and five major themes were identified: The course helps students to become doctors and act as such; the benefits of having a holistic view of the patient and his family; palliative care opens a new field of knowledge; the course enables students to think and reflect on their personal development and deepen the humanistic aspects of professional practice and; practice is essential in learning palliative care.

A discipline with a marked humanistic approach

The article also states that students emphasized that this is a fundamental learning in medicine and employed positive expressions when they wrote about their experiences in palliative care. In this regard, they said that they would recommend to future doctors to form themselves in this discipline. They also stressed its strong humanistic character; it helps to understand "the real purpose of a doctor which is to stay at the bedside."

"Education in palliative care –-details the study—has become a priority in many European countries. However, there is a lack of information on the students' experiences which could help universities to adapt their programs to the demographic and social needs."

The authors of the article: Does Palliative Care Education Matter to Medical Students? The Experience of Attending an Undergraduate Course in Palliative Care are Carlos Centeno, principal investigator of ATLANTES, professor of the School of Medicine and, specialist in palliative care at the la Clínica Universidad de Navarra; Montse Ballesteros, professor at the School of Nursing at the Universidad de Valladolid (Campus of Soria); José Miguel Carrasco sociologist and researcher in ATLANTES; and, María Arantzamendi, researcher in ATLANTES and director of the Master in Palliative Care Nursing, School of Nursing.