Initial Evaluation and Implementation of Simulation-based Death Notification Training for Military Residents

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Military Medicine
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Communicating patient death to families is a sensitive medical task, especially in the military due to sudden deaths.
• Military medical residents in France lack systematic training in death notification procedures.
• This gap necessitates an evaluation of current training and the development of targeted educational interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the baseline training level of military medical residents in death notification.
• To design and implement a simulation-based training program to address identified training gaps.
• To evaluate the program's impact on residents' self-efficacy and its long-term relevance.

Main Methods:

• An observational study using questionnaires distributed to military medical residents (2023-2024 cohorts).
• Development and delivery of a tailored simulation-based training program based on initial findings.
• Pre- and post-training self-assessments and a 5-month follow-up survey to measure outcomes.

Main Results:

• Only 19% of 72 surveyed residents had previously announced a death, with 65% feeling unprepared.
• 44% reported prior training, but a significant skill gap was identified.
• Simulation-based training improved 8 out of 10 assessed skills significantly (P < .05); 100% found it useful at follow-up.

Conclusions:

• A clear need exists for specialized death notification training for military physicians.
• The simulation-based program effectively boosted residents' self-efficacy in announcing death.
• Annual integration of this training is recommended to improve care for bereaved military families.