Introduction:

Palliative Care (PC) enables interaction of the multidisciplinary team and provides quality of life and pain relief, considering the biopsychosocial and spirituality of the individual, so as not to postpone or accelerate death.

Objective:

Identify the level of knowledge of medical students and physicians about PC.

Methods:

The first sample consisted of 73 academics distributed among the twelve periods of the medical course. The second sample population includes 3 doctors, none of whom practice PC. Data collection was based on the application of the Portuguese version of the BPW (Bonn Palliative Care Knowledge Test) questionnaire from Porto. The file is composed of two sections, the first has 23 questions and the second 15, including 4 answer options (correct, reasonably correct, somewhat correct and incorrect). As support for the virtual application, the Google Forms platform was used. Participants were informed, via text message, and in person in the case of professionals, of the reason for the research and about ethical issues.

Results:

Compression regarding PC is variable, especially among students, with some topics showing greater divergence between responses than others. Academics (84.9%) and physicians (66.6%) demonstrated knowledge about the possibility of combining PC with curative treatments. Only 9.1% of academics and 0% of physicians rated pain management with transdermal opioids as inadequate. Furthermore, 95.9% of students and 100% of professionals recognize that interpersonal skills, such as communication, are something that can be learned. Regarding the identification and discussion of real problems in the social environment of the person in PC, 100% of physicians and only 50.7% of academics said they were capable of such action.

Conclusion:

Theoretical and practical training of these individuals is necessary, through the inclusion of the PC discipline in an individualized way, from the first periods of the medical course and in other health courses, since the multidisciplinary team is essential for the execution of this holistic care.

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