This paper addresses the issue of inadequate preparation among medical students in Poland for conducting difficult conversations with patients at the end of life. The current educational system lacks a coherent, practical, and nationwide curriculum designed to develop the communication competencies required in palliative care contexts. The assessment of these skills remains largely dependent on local initiatives at individual universities, rather than being a unified standard within medical education.
The author notes that as medicine and artificial intelligence-based tools continue to evolve rapidly, the importance of physicians' interpersonal skills will only grow. In an educational model where the ability to manage and interpret information plays an increasingly significant role, clear communication, empathy, and the capacity to navigate emotionally taxing conversations become particularly vital. A lack of systematic instruction and evaluation of these competencies may diminish their perceived value among students and perpetuate situations in which patients and their loved ones receive insufficient empathy, respect, and support from medical staff.
The primary recommendation presented in this policy brief is the introduction of mandatory, practical training on end-of-life communication within medical education. The author also advocates for the standardization of curriculum content through the development of a national framework, based on proven international models of palliative communication. These efforts should be complemented by the systematic assessment of acquired competencies—both immediately following the training and over the longer term—to evaluate the durability of the skills gained.
Dominika Wiatrowska is completing her medical studies at the University of Cambridge, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in Education, Psychology, and Learning. She is now set to begin her medical internship in the United Kingdom. Her professional interests include pediatrics, family medicine, and the organization of medical education—specifically innovative and interdisciplinary teaching methods, as well as issues surrounding recruitment and access to medical training. Her work was supervised by Dr. hab. Michał Brzeziński, Head of the Department and Clinic of Cardiosurgery and Vascular Surgery at the Medical University of Gdańsk.
The text of the article is available on the Tygodnik Medyczny. A full report, featuring a detailed analysis of the proposal presented, will be published on our website shortly.
This work was developed as part of the "Young Think Policy Briefs – Health" program.