Development and evaluation of a palliative medicine curriculum for third-year medical students.

Objective: To assess the impact, retention, and magnitude of effect of a required didactic and experiential palliative care curriculum on third-year medical students' knowledge, confidence, and concerns about end-of-life care, over time and in comparison to benchmark data from a national study of internal medicine residents and faculty.

Design: Prospective study of third-year medical students prior to and immediately after course completion, with a follow-up assessment in the fourth year, and in comparison to benchmark data from a large national study.

Setting: Internal Medicine Clerkship in a public accredited medical school.

Psychiatric issues in palliative care: recognition of delirium in patients enrolled in hospice care.

Objectives: Delirium is prevalent, difficult to assess, under-recognized, and undertreated in hospice and palliative care settings. Furthermore, it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Under-recognition of delirium results in under-treatment and increased suffering.