The cadre of death education instructors in paramedic programs

This study addresses the paucity of literature on death education offerings in emergency medical services schools. The study examines the cadre of death education instructors in paramedic training programs. Examining death education offerings in paramedic programs can provide insight into how well emergency medical services personnel are prepared when encountering bereaved persons on death-related responses.

In an exploratory study, information was gathered from paramedic programs on the instructors who teach death-related education. A self-administered survey was sent to each (n = 537) paramedic programs in the USA. The survey solicited the number of instructors teaching death education, their backgrounds, and their formal training in death-related instruction.

The response rate was 45.4%. The majority of programs (78%) reported using a paramedic as the primary instructor to teach death-related content. Nurses (66%) and physicians (32%) also were utilized frequently. More than two-thirds (68%) of the responding programs utilize faculty members who have had no formal training in death and dying. Only one-third of the programs utilizes a multidisciplinary staff. Less than 40% of responding programs teach all of their death-related curricula with instructors who are trained in death education.

This study indicates that the majority of paramedic programs are not utilizing an instructor cadre that is formally trained in death education, nor are they using a multidisciplinary staff. Reasons for using these instructors to teach death education in paramedic programs are discussed.