7 Steps to Starting a Death & Dying Interest Group at Your School

Dr. Stellini's Getting Started

1. Speak with your local AMSA chapter president. National AMSA is interested in promoting end of life education, thus you chapter president should be more than willing to support your D&D endeavors-figuratively and perhaps even financially.
   
   
2. Get the "okay" from your institution. In spite of the fact that your IG will be a division of your local chapter it is also a good idea to speak with your school. Provide a copy of your proposal and program ideas and spell out any relationships you plan to build with outside institutions (i.e. hospices or hospitals with which your school is not affiliated).
   
   
3. Find another student interested in EOL issues to work with you as a co-coordinator. Having a partner in crime will lighten your time commitment and provide another source of creative input.
   
   
4. Find a Faculty Advisor. A physician with an interest in EOL will serve as invaluable resource to your interest group. He or she can help you find speakers for your events and serve as a liaison for your interest group to any established End of life/Palliative care center at you school.
   
   
5. Contact your local hospice. Hospice volunteering and shadowing hospice docs are great ways to expose interested students to hands-on end of life issues.
   - Forming a Partnership with your Local Hospice
   - A dinner sponsored by Hospice and AMSA
   
   
6. Plan your program. Decide on the type projects that you want to incorporate into your IG. A good place to start collecting ideas might be Projects-in-a-Box (developed by 2003 AMSA EOL Fellows) and PowerPoint Lunch Lectures and Presentations Ready to Go.
   
   
7. Make things happen. Make sure that you have sufficient funding for your project ideas. An AMSA local project grant may be a good place to start. Also be sure to check what type of financial support is available from your school. Put the word out about your programs and collect feed back from attendees.

And lastly, seek help if needed. Feel free to contact your national Death and Dying Interest Group Coordinator if you have any problems with steps 1-7 above.