Relatório de estágio em cuidados paliativos

Abstract

With the increase in life expectancy, there has also been a rise in chronic and degenerative diseases. This group of people requires Palliative Care to fulfill their special healthcare needs. The purpose of the Palliative Care team is to support the patient and family through their path in life until death, respecting their physical, psychological and spiritual needs, as well as options and preferences including the place of death. According to the Primary Care organization in Portugal, as a Family Physician, I should be able to carry out “palliative actions”, however more specialized approach should be performed by specialized palliative care teams. As a Medical Physician trainee, I had a rewarding experience during a Palliative Care internship in home care setting. After this, I decided to enter a Master in Palliative Care, with the purpose to join a specialized team later. In order to achieve my goal and develop practical and clinic skills, I decided to carry out an internship in a Palliative Care Home Team and in an Inpatient Palliative Care Unit, during the Master, so I could experience different specialist care resources. In this document I describe the activities carried out in the Internship in the different places, as well as my considerations about the different experiences, the knowledge I got and what changed in my professional life after this journey.

Date of Award	26 May 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Manuel Ferreira (Supervisor)