A palliative care knowledge survey was conducted involving pharmacy students to examine their perceived usefulness and the educational effect of clinical training in hospitals.

A questionnaire sheet was distributed to fifth-year pharmacy students before and after clinical training. The questionnaire consisted of questions to clarify the details of palliative care-related training in hospitals and students’ knowledge of such care. The respondents were divided into 2 groups: those who participated in palliative care team (PCT) rounds (group A: 57) and those who did not (group B: 57).

The mean total correct answer rate markedly increased after training in group A, from 37.9 to 47.1% (P < .01). Such an increase was also observed in the domains of philosophy and pain in this group (P < .01). In contrast, group B did not show differences in the mean correct answer rate between before and after training; there was no significant increase in the rate in any domain.

Pharmacy students’ knowledge was enhanced by participating in the PCT, confirming the usefulness of such participation during training as part of palliative care education.