Art of Compassionate Death Notification

Compassionate death notification is a skill that can be taught. Health professionals rarely, if ever, receive formal training in death notification. Yet, when a patient dies, the physician and other health professionals must help the loved ones in those first grief-filled hours, when the ability to deliver bad news in a compassionate manner is most important. In fact, the way a message is delivered can have a great effect on the grief process for the bereaved. The Art of Compassionate Death Notification program includes all the tools you need to begin your own in-house education. Developed at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, it is a proven way to present key death notification skills. Topics include the following: the concept and reality of grief, communicating with grieving family members, issues of autopsy and organ donation, management of paperwork, taking care of the caregiver.

To order this item, visit the Staff Development section in our catalog.