Palliative care in light of the National Policy for Palliative Care and National Curricular Guidelines: specialty or generalist care?

Introduction:  The National Palliative Care Policy (PNCP) was established in the Unified Health System (SUS) in 2024. One of its principles is the provision of palliative care by a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team. Its objective is the integration of Palliative Care (PC) into the Health Care Network, with emphasis on Primary Health Care (PHC).

Objective:   Since the National Curricular Guidelines (DCN) of health courses focus especially on changes in the health care model, the objective was to analyze converging relationships between the PNCP, and the DCN of the undergraduate medical course.

Method:  An exploratory qualitative study was carried out through documentary analysis of the undergraduate medical course DCNs published in 2001, 2014, and 2022, to examine their perspectives on Palliative Care.

Results:   The first DCN outlined specific competencies and skills for medical training in monitoring the death process, focusing on the physiological aspects of human development, from gestation to death. The 2001 and 2014 DCNs made no mention of Palliative Care. The 2022 DCN, however, included specific competencies and skills for PC, along with end-of-life care considerations. This inclusion appears in the comprehensive care section, spanning health promotion to rehabilitation.

Conclusions:  As health care continuously evolves, new fields emerge, including Palliative Care. While discussions remain open-such as whether PC should be a specialist or generalist field - the path toward integrating palliative care into medical training is outlined.

Keywords:
Palliative Care; Medical Education; Health Policy