Abstract

AMARAL, Mariana Xavier Gonçalves do et al. Resident physician´s emotional reactions toward patients in palliative care. Rev. SBPH [online]. 2008, vol.11, n.1, pp. 61-86. ISSN 1516-0858.

Health professionals suffer great physical and emotional distress by taking care of terminal patients in palliative care and the physician can develop a series of negayive feelings and emotions caused by the confrontation with the possibility of the patient´s death. The study has as purpose to suggest a evaluation about how the physician deals with the limitation of medicine and with the acceptance of his patient´s death. The resident physician´s emotional reactions toward these patients are mainly linked to each professionals personality characteristics, to medical graduation and to each one experiences with the death of people related to him in the past, or to his own proximity to death. Through the results it is possible to observe a real difficulty from the majority of the participants in dealing with the theme and communication of death with their patients, family and with themselves.

Keywords : Health professionals; Physician; Palliative care; Emotional reactions.

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