This educational activity is a simulation-based training designed to improve emergency medicine residents’ ability to communicate a patient death to a surviving spouse with clarity, empathy, and professionalism. Using a standardized patient (SP) scenario, learners practice delivering a death disclosure following structured communication frameworks such as the GRIEV_ING mnemonic for death notification and NURSE statements for empathetic responses. The activity combines a preparatory didactic session with a simulated encounter and structured debriefing. Faculty observers and standardized patients provide feedback using a competency-based assessment tool aligned with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) emergency medicine communication milestones. The exercise aims to increase learner confidence and competence in conducting emotionally difficult conversations in clinical practice.
Target Learners
- Emergency Medicine residents, particularly interns (PGY-1)
- Early-stage residents with limited prior experience delivering death notifications
- Can also be adapted for:
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- Senior residents
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- Medical students in clinical years
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- Other trainees involved in acute care communication
Equipment / Resources Needed
- Standardized patient (SP) trained to portray a surviving spouse
- Faculty raters/observers (typically two per scenario)
- Simulation or clinical room for the encounter
- Printed training materials:
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- Learner Door Prompt
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- Standardized Patient Script (Surviving Spouse Information)
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- Table of Ideal Responses
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- Competency Rating Instrument
- Timer or watch for session timing
- Optional: remote observation capability for additional faculty reviewers
Additional preparation resources:
- Didactic materials on death disclosure communication strategies
- Training session for standardized patients (approximately 1 hour)
Estimated Time to Complete the Activity
Per learner scenario:
- Total: ~20 minutes
Breakdown:
- Simulation encounter: ~10 minutes
- Debriefing and feedback: ~10 minutes
Additional instructional components (if included in curriculum):
- Preceding didactic session on death disclosure: ~1 hour