Death education in paramedic programs: a nationwide assessment

In an exploratory study, we obtained information on death education in paramedic programs. A self-administered survey was sent to all U.S. paramedic training programs (N = 537). The survey ascertained the method of instruction, educational supplements, assessment techniques, and integration of death education into general course work. The status of past, present, and future death education offerings in paramedic programs was also elicited. Analysis was performed on the usable surveys (response rate = 51%). The overwhelming majority (95%) of programs offer death education, with more offerings now than 10 years ago. Legal--ethical topics were the most often included death-related instruction. In the majority of programs, a lecture (didactic) format was used for instruction and closed-ended tests were used for assessment. Results on other educational supplements and assessment techniques are also presented.