Training of medical interns in palliative care teams : qualitative study

For many decades, many reports have emphasized the need to disseminate palliative care by training medical students in this practice. In this context, the evaluation of pedagogical devices is imperative. Qualitative research is conducted with 18 medical interns who have completed a 6-month internship in a palliative care team, fixed or mobile. This exploratory study aims to collect the feedback they make on their experiences during the internship, the skills they have acquired, their appreciation of the pedagogical methods. After analyzing the interviews, five themes are identified. The interns describe an initial destabilization at the beginning of the internship. They report a reinforcement of their professional skills with the learning of a better relationship to their emotions. They realize that many skills are transferable in their specialty, but that, often, the deliberative competence can be lived only individually. They mention an experience of questioning and reflexivity on their professional and personal career. They underline the favorable role of educational support. If the contribution of an internship in palliative care team appears obvious, it is important that the pedagogical referents lead an ethical reflection in order to understand the fundamentals of the palliative clinic but also the shifts, the tensions, even the paradoxes vis-a-vis the current medical repository. (C) 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.