title: Improving student comfort with death and dying discussions through facilitated family encounters.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to explore the educational potential for a collaboration between palliative medicine and psychiatry designed to improve first-year medical students' knowledge and comfort with end-of-life issues through a facilitated small-group discussion with family members of recently-deceased loved ones.
  
  
  METHODS
  A group of 222 first-year medical students were divided into 14 small groups. Each group also consisted of two mental-health providers, one palliative-medicine interdisciplinary team member, and one family member of a recently-deceased hospice patient. A death-and-dying discussion between students and family members was facilitated by the mental-health and palliative-medicine faculty and was followed by post-activity evaluations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As a result of the facilitated activity, 77% of participants reported increased comfort levels and 85% reported improved knowledge of end-of-life issues. Students reporting benefit were more likely to perceive higher facilitator and family comfort levels with end-of-life discussions, better activity organization, and utility of post-encounter group discussion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Facilitated conversations between students and family members of recently-deceased loved ones may improve comfort and knowledge with end-of-life conversations. Future studies should explore the longer-range impact of this educational activity.
authors: The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA. schillerstr@uthscsa.edu
authors: Jason E
authors: JE
authors: Schillerstrom
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Sanchez-Reilly
authors: Louise
authors: L
authors: O'Donnell
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D003643:Death; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology