The perception of death in medical professionals and students

Abstract The psycho-emotional pressure generated with the death of a patient is one of the most difficult issues to be faced in medicine. This survey aims to analyze how physicians and medical students perceive the end of life. The study was characterized as a data survey, with a descriptive and quantitative approach. The data were organized into two categories for analysis: perception of death; and the influence of the medical experience in facing patient death. The results show that students feel unprepared to face this reality and that the professional experience is the main modifying factor of the doctors’ understanding of the death. It is concluded that thanatology and its unfoldings are part of an academic gap in medicine, and the confrontation of death is a painful issue for professionals. Aprovação CEP-Fadip CAAE 68401717.6.0000.8063