[The responses to notice of a death]

A better understanding of the process of bereavement is important because assist to remove some negative stereotypes. There is no easy way to give news of death, and physicians and nurses receive little instruction in how to handle such situation. It is usually learned by on-the-job training. Ideally, the news should be conveyed by the physician who took care of the patient during the illness and who knows the surviving relatives well enough to be able to frame the news in a manner that anticipates the likely responses.