Education on the Process of Dying and Death by Medical Students and Resident Doctors

ABSTRACT Introduction The process of death and dying is a theme that generates different reactions among medical students and resident doctors, being influenced by their personal and professional experiences as well as cultural, psychological, religious, and other characteristics. Objective To evaluate the education of medical students (MS) of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and resident doctors (RD) at Hospital de Clínicas of the Federal University of Paraná (HC-UFPR) on the subject of dying and death. Method A quantitative observational study. A self-administered questionnaire was designed, with 28 multiple-choice questions, to evaluate education about the process of dying and death, with elements adapted from the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale Form B (FATCOD-B Scale). Results The questionnaire was completed by 805 MS (74.6% of the total number of students enrolled in the first semester of 2016) and 93 RD (73.8% of the total number of residents of clinical and surgical specialties enrolled in 2016). The report of experience of contact with dying people increased among the MS as they progressed through medical school, reaching near-totality among the first-year residents, and totality among those with the most specialized degrees in all specialties. 40.1% of the MS and 51.1% of the RD reported that they had received some kind of pedagogical orientation about death and dying during medical school. The influence of religious beliefs on education in this area was reported by 54% of the MS and 44.3% of the RD. 58% of the MS and RD reported feelings of frustration and impotence following patients’ deaths. Contact with patients in the dying process produced a range of feelings and perceptions among the MS and RD, including sadness, anguish, distancing, increased sensitivity, and professional maturation, among others. Conclusion MS and RD reported that they received little training about death during their medical training, and that their perceptions about the subject are influenced by multiple variables, such as religious belief. Contact with death also provokes equally diverse reactions. More studies are needed, to deepen the complexity of this issue in the field of medical training.