Effectiveness of an Integrated Ward-based Program in Preparing Medical Students to Care for Patients at the End of Life

Integrating end-of-life care training into the clinical years of medical school has been promoted to enhance education in this area. To assess the effectiveness of an end-of-life care exercise integrated into clinical clerkships, we compared the level of preparedness in end-of-life care reported by students who did or did not complete the exercise. A greater proportion of students who completed the exercise compared with those who did not felt prepared in end-of-life care [50.7% (39/77) vs 35.6% (64/180); P = .02]. Among 5 domains of skills examined, significant differences were seen in interviewing/communicating (3.7 vs 3.5; P = .05) and management of common symptoms (3.3 vs 3.0; P < .01). We conclude that a ward-based integrated end-of-life care exercise may improve graduating students' self-reported preparedness to care for patients at the end of life.