Development, implementation and evaluation of a pain management and palliative care educational seminar for medical students

BACKGROUND Despite calls for the development and evaluation of pain education programs during early medical student training, little research has been dedicated to this initiative. OBJECTIVES To develop a pain management and palliative care seminar for medical students during their surgical clerkship and evaluate its impact on knowledge over time. METHODS A multidisciplinary team of palliative care and pain experts worked collaboratively and developed the seminar over one year. Teaching methods included didactic and case-based instruction, as well as small and large group discussions. A total of 292 medical students attended a seminar during their third- or fourth-year surgical rotation. A 10-item test on knowledge regarding pain and palliative care topics was administered before the seminar, immediately following the seminar and up to one year following the seminar. Ninety-five percent (n=277) of students completed the post-test and 31% (n=90) completed the follow-up test. RESULTS The mean pretest, post-test and one-year follow-up test scores were 51%, 75% and 73%, respectively. Mean test scores at post-test and follow-up were significantly higher than pretest scores (all P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in mean test scores between follow-up and post-test (P=0.559), indicating that students retained knowledge gained from the seminar. CONCLUSIONS A high-quality educational seminar using interactive and case-based instruction can enhance students' knowledge of pain management and palliative care. These findings highlight the feasibility of developing and implementing pain education material for medical students during their training.