Very little has been reported about instructing medical students on the psychosocial aspects of life-threatening illness, and there is evidence that this subject has been neglected in medical education. Structured courses are preferable to informal instruction but they are not universally employed, for reasons which are more related to resistance and avoidance than to availability of curriculum time or qualified faculty. Indications are, however, that such education is increasing. Yet to be determined are optimal teaching methods for this subject. Improved communication among educators in this area is needed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
WagnerB. M., Teaching Students to Work with the Dying. American Journal of Nursing64: 128–131, 1964.
2.
BonineG. W., Student's Reactions to Children's Deaths. American Journal of Nursing67: 1439–1440, 1967.
3.
RichT.KalmansonG. M., Attitudes of Medical Residents toward the Dying Patient in a General Hospital. Postgraduate Medicine40: A-127–A-130, 1960.
4.
Kubler-RossE., On Death and Dying. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1969.
5.
BartonD., The Need for Including Instruction on Death and Dying in the Medical Curriculum. Journal of Medical Education47: 169–175, 1972.
6.
BartonD.FlexnerJ. M.Van EysJ.ScottC. E., Death and Dying: A Course for Medical Students. Journal of Medical Education47: 945–951, 1972.
7.
ListonE. H., Education on Death and Dying: A Survey of American Medical Schools. Journal of Medical Education48: 577–578, 1973.
8.
WahlC. W., Management of Death and the Dying Patient. In WahlC. W. (Ed.) New Dimensions in Psychosomatic Medicine. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 241–255, 1964.
