Pocket Reference Card Improves Pediatric Resident Comfort in Caring for Children at End of Life.

Background: Studies have shown that pediatricians in all stages of training are uncomfortable managing patients at end of life. Our goal was to create and test a portable reference card to improve pediatric resident education in comprehensive care for children nearing end of life.

Methods: We evaluated the impact of the Pediatric End-of-Life Care Management Reference Card on residents' perceived comfort and knowledge through pre- and post-intervention surveys. The preintervention questionnaires and pocket cards were distributed to all first- and second-year residents, and then a follow-up survey was provided six months later. Based on Likert scales, questions focused on self-reported understanding of palliative care principles and knowledge regarding and comfort in performing end-of-life symptom management.

Results: Twenty-six pediatric residents completed pre- and post-intervention surveys. Following receipt of the reference card, no significant changes were noted consistently across all groups of residents. The majority of improvements were noted when comparing second to third year residents, including knowledge and comfort related to pain management, comfort in managing secretions and nausea, and documentation following death. The first to second year residents demonstrated improvement in knowing what language to use to tell a family that their child has died.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that a portable reference card may be a convenient, simple, and useful component of education for pediatric residents in end-of-life care management. This reference card is a foundation from which to develop a standardized educational tool. Additional research is required to assess the impact of this type of intervention in pediatric palliative care education.