Medical Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes and Views After Palliative Medicine Curriculum Reform: A Mixed-Methods Study

Background: A new national competence-based curriculum (NC) of palliative medicine (PM) undergraduate teaching in medical schools has recently been created in Finland. Its effects on students’ learning have not been assessed. Objective: To study the effects of the NC-based PM course on students’ attitudes and to explore their views of the PM education. Methods: The impact of NC on fifth-year medical students’ learning was studied at two Finnish universities, which had implemented the NC. The attitude rankings of palliative care (PC) were assessed before and after education using a validated questionnaire. The students’ open-ended answers were collected after education and examined qualitatively using the inductive content analysis method. Data were received with an electronic Webropol® survey. Results: A total of 267 and 149 students reported their attitudes before and after attending the education based on the new NC, respectively. After the course, students felt significantly ( p < 0.05) less distressed with the idea of encountering dying people, and their attitudes toward PC became more positive. In the qualitative analysis conducted, four categories emerged from the data: students’ overall perspectives, developmental needs for the NC, and factors facilitating and preventing learning. Students perceived the PM course as important and supportive of their professional development and that it supported professional growth. Practical improvements to the education were proposed. Conclusions: The NC-based PM course had a significant positive impact on the students’ attitudes toward PC. The students felt that the education facilitated their preparing to physician’s profession.