Final costs: The emotional impact of providing end-of-life care.

Abstract

The article highlights the emotional challenges that doctors face when providing end-of-life care, and argues that medical training doesn't always prepare them adequately for this task. While palliative care specialists are particularly experienced in handling the emotional demands of caring for the dying patient, their expertise could usefully be shared more widely beyond their specialty. This is particularly important, given that most end-of-life care is provided by doctors from specialties other than palliative medicine. The suggestion is made that there needs to be greater provision of reflective groups and psychological support, to help doctors manage the inevitable emotional weight of their work. Although this would incur costs in the short term, such investment has been shown to be cost-effective in the longer term as it improves doctors' wellbeing and enhances staff retention.