| EDUCATION |
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| Year : 2004 | Volume
: 10
| Issue : 2 | Page : 55--60 |
Introduction of palliative care into undergraduate medical and nursing education in India: A critical evaluation
Yamuna Velayudhan, Mary Ollapally, Vasudeva Upadhyaya, Shoba Nair, Meena Aldo
Departments of Anaesthesia and Pain and Palliative Care, St. Johns National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India
Correspondence Address:
Yamuna Velayudhan
14, SREB Quarters, Kodigehalli Main Road, Sahakara Nagar, Bangalore - 92
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
AIM: To introduce palliative care into undergraduate medical and nursing education, and to ascertain if such training improved students' knowledge of palliative care.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Third year nursing students and fourth year medical students at the St John's National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bangalore had five weekly lectures in palliative care. A 20 item questionnaire was administered to 4th year medical students before and after the educational intervention, and again after one year. The same questionnaire was administered to the control group of final year medical students. The questionnaire for 3rd and 4th year nursing students had 15 questions.
RESULTS: The mean scores for medical students was 9.08 (S.D 2.5) in the pretest, 10.43 (S.D 1.63) in post-test I, and 8.43 (SD 1.36) in post test 2. The control group scored 8.36 (SD 2.52). The mean scores for nursing students was 8.7 (S.D 1.8) in the pretest, 10.73 (SD 2.63) in post test 1 and 8.23 (SD 4.1) in post test 2. The control group scored 8.13 (SD 2.39).
CONCLUSION: There was no lasting improvement in knowledge scores in both groups of students. Inclusion of palliative care in the undergraduate teaching of medical and nursing students in India is feasible, but thought needs to be given to the curriculum content, teaching methods and evaluation techniques.
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