Confirming and notifying death: blended learning acceptability among medical students, a pilot mixed-methods study

Young doctors confronted with death confirmation and death notification experience practical and emotional difficulties. The medical curriculum does not provide any specific training on these tasks. On clinical placements, exposure to death is rare and late. Death notification conditions the relatives' grieving process. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived acceptability of specific training on these topics by students in their last year of medical school. The participants followed a specifically designed e-learning course that provided theoretical elements, then participated in a simulation session on death notification. In this mixed-methods study, acceptability was explored quantitatively using self-questionnaires before and after the training, and then qualitatively through focus groups. Fourteen students were included. The study showed a significant improvement in self-efficacy as well as a positive impact on the seven components of acceptability. The students emphasized the complementary nature of the teaching methods and the unexpected contributions to interprofessional skills. The participants were pleased with this teaching approach and the topics covered. They expressed a need for more teaching on interpersonal skills and emotion management, which is currently neglected by the medical school curriculum. Clinical experience insufficiently enriches the curriculum, which could benefit from more mentoring and interprofessional collaboration. This innovative theoretical and practical training is perceived as acceptable by students and deserves to be enhanced and made permanent. Future work should explore its impact on clinical practice.