Palliative medicine: its content and training.

The specialty of palliative medicine has developed rapidly in the last few years incorporating many aspects of care of the terminally ill. It provides a unique opportunity to work within a multidisciplinary team providing total care for a patient and his family. There is undoubtedly an increasing demand from the public for this kind of service. Palliative medicine is a challenging specialization in which a career structure is currently being developed.