AMSA EOL Curricular Goals and Objectives

Goals

• Introduce medical students to end of life care and its role in health services delivery, in order to produce an informed cadre of future medical care providers and leaders in end of life care and medical education;
• Introduce students to the delivery and management of end of life care through experiential, interactive, and didactic methods;
• Stimulate medical students to return to their institutions and to share their experiences with their colleagues, as well as facilitate end of life care education and activities within their schools and communities.

Objectives
As a result of participating in the End of Life educational sessions, students should be able to:

• Develop and practice basic interviewing and communication skills essential to EOL care
• Understand the psychological, sociological, cultural and spiritual aspects of death and dying
• Understand the pathophysiology and management of common symptoms at the end of life
• Recognize and respond to cultural, linguistic, and spiritual diversity
• Gain familiarity with an interdisciplinary team of EOL care providers (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers, pastoral counselors, bereavement counselors, and volunteers) and learn to work together in providing comprehensive, coordinated care for terminally ill patients.
• Identify significant points of consensus and controversy in the ethical aspects of EOL care.
• Improve the ability of students to reflect self-critically on personal and professional experiences around death and loss
• Design and develop a plan for integrating EOL education into the curricula of the students' medical schools and residency programs.