Pre-clinical palliative medicine education at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

A newly designed six-week course, Palliative Medicine, for second-year medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin is described. A previous course on death and dying received unfavorable student reviews related to an emphasis on philosophical and theoretical concepts concerning death. The new course presented the concepts of palliative medicine in the context of practical clinical care issues and physician-patient-family communication issues. Student evaluations were very favorable. Implications for legitimizing palliative care in the United States are discussed.