“Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver” Palliative Educational Program: The Results of a Survey Assessing Physicians’ Perceptions of Drama-Based Education for End-of-Life Care

Inadequate palliative care training in medical education is associated with many physicians feeling unprepared to care for dying patients and their families. Therefore, an opportunity exists to offer physicians continuing medical education that increases their understanding of and comfort with complex palliative care issues. The goal of the current study was to evaluate The Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver Palliative Educational Program as an educational tool for physicians. The study employed a cross-sectional post-performance evaluation survey assessing physicians’ perceptions of the Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver Palliative Educational Program. The program was presented to members of four professional healthcare organizations. A total of 50 physicians completed the evaluation survey. Overall, physicians rated the Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver Palliative Educational Program positively. Their understanding of and comfort with end-of-life issues increased significantly after participating in the program. Moreover, they considered the program to be more useful than didactic lectures and journal articles. The results suggest that the Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver Palliative Educational Program is a valuable education tool for palliative care training. More research is needed to explore its utility as an option for continuing medical education.