Education and training for moral and ethical decision-making at the end of life in critical care

Summary End-of-life issues are core components of critical care. Physicians, nurses and caregivers that work in the Intensive Care Unit must know the ethical framework that guides decision-making and must be able to communicate with patients and their families in order to improve the quality of care and to reduce conflicts. A formal education in bioethics and an in-depth training in communication must be introduced in the medicine resident curricula.