Syrian medical residents value palliative care but lack the knowledge to

Most medical residents at Damascus University hospitals say palliative care is important, but a cross-sectional study finds their knowledge often falls short of basic delivery concepts. The research, published in BMC Medical Education, surveyed 224 residents in April 2026: 98.2% considered palliative care an important topic and 90.6% wanted to learn more. Yet 62% scored in low or very low categories on a validated Palliative Care Knowledge Test. Only 23.2% reported prior training, mainly received during residency (63.4%). Performance was strongest on the philosophy of palliative care (93.6% correct) and weaker on clinical areas like dyspnea (36%), pain management (44.5%), gastrointestinal issues (42.9%), and psychiatric aspects (50.1%). Knowledge correlated with academic seniority, specialty, and prior training.