Supporting Health Care Professions Learners Experiencing Grief Using the TEARS Framework: A Workshop for...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Grief Counseling
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Healthcare professionals frequently encounter grief, yet formal education on processing these experiences is lacking.
• Learners in health professions are especially vulnerable to emotional distress and may lack coping mechanisms.
• A structured approach is needed to equip educators to support learners experiencing grief.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel workshop designed to help health professions educators support learners experiencing grief.
• To assess the effectiveness of the Turn Inward, Explore, Acknowledge, Resources, and Support (TEARS) framework in an educational setting.

Main Methods:

• A 1-hour virtual workshop was delivered to interprofessional health professions educators at two pediatric institutions.
• The TEARS framework was introduced, and participants' comfort, intended behavior change, and framework utilization were assessed via surveys.
• Longitudinal follow-up at 3 months evaluated the sustained use of the TEARS framework.

Main Results:

• 121 educators participated, with 80% intending to change teaching practices and 64% feeling more confident supporting grieving learners post-workshop.
• At 3-month follow-up, 86% reported using at least one TEARS component, primarily "turning inward" and "acknowledging."
• Time constraints and lack of applicable incidents were identified as barriers to implementation.

Conclusions:

• Health care professional grief is a critical, underdiscussed issue presenting an educational opportunity for professional sustainability.
• The TEARS framework workshop demonstrated success in increasing educator comfort, intent to change behavior, and framework application.
• Future work should expand this educational initiative to diverse contexts and evaluate its impact on learners.