End-of-life care education available to postgraduate physicians in Michigan

To provide realistic patient focused end-of-life (EOL) care, physicians needed to receive EOL care and hospice care training. This study was conducted to determine the status of training available in postgraduate medical training programs in Michigan in 2007 and compare it to that available in 2000. The participants consisted of the directors of the 317 residency and fellowship programs in Michigan in 2007. A cover letter and survey were sent to each director of medical education at the teaching hospitals. Of the surveys sent, 60 were returned (return rate = 19%). Answers to the questions were compared to the results of that conducted in 2000 by the Michigan Commission on End of Life Care. The results implied that although the need may have been addressed for resident physicians in internal and family medicine programs, the need may not have been fully addressed in specialty-specific programs.