Palliative care: What role can we and do we want to assume for ourselves as anaesthesiologists? A survey among members of the DGAI / BDA Palliative Care Working Group

Palliative care was established as the fifth pillar of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Me dicine e. V. (DGAI). However, which role anaesthetists may play regarding the care of patients with palliative care needs, is not clear yet. Method An ad hoc email survey among mem bers of the scientific working group "palliative me dicine" of the Association of German Anaesthetists e.V. (BDA) and DGAI on Aug. 22, 2022, about the role of anaesthesiology in palliative medicine. The response to the single question "Is there a matter close to your heart that in your view should be mentioned here?" were analysed qualitatively according to Mayring [1]. Results Eleven of 39 registered addressees re sponded. The three main categories were (1) self perception of the professional task regarding palliative care (2) pallia tive care qualifications or palliative care training and continuing education, and (3) the effectiveness of anaesthesiology activities with regard to palliative care. Numerous aspects of anaesthesiological competence concerning palliative care were reported. The need for further training and qualification of anaesthe siologists as well as the creation of ne cessary political structures were pointed out. Conclusion Future initiatives should include speci fic recommendations on the role of anaes thesiologists concerning palliative care in everyday clinical practice and interdis ciplinary collaboration. Further training and qualification concepts should be examined.