In Bulgaria, The Healthcare Establishments Act has officially introduced the concept of hospice care in 1999. Since then many hospices have been established and the interest in them increased. The course "Management and ethics of hospice care" was introduced into the master programme of specialty "Health care" in Medical University - Pleven 2002/2003 academic year and 2003/2004 academic year into the bachelor programme. 83 master degree and 107 bachelor degree students have passed the course. The aim of this paper is to present the application of audiovisuals in the course "Management and ethics of hospice care". Planed as interactive course, in parallel with the traditional approaches, three Hollywood movies have found their place in the programme: "Sweet November", "Autumn in New York" and "My life". All of them represent stories of terminally ill young patients but with different focus on the issues related with palliative care. Bearing in mind the delicacy of the discipline and the impossibility of contacts of students with terminally ill patients, the application of audiovisuals in the course "Management and ethics of hospice care" contributes to understanding the gist and philosophy of hospice care. The aim of the course is to prepare professionals who have "ear" to hear even what has not been expressed, have "mind" to understand what has been said and have "heart" to respond to what has been understood.
Scripta Scientifica Medica 2008;40(1):19-21
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