End of Life Communication

Catalog description

This course focuses on the only reality for every human being: death. However, in spite of its certainty, American culture tends to minimize or ignore discussions of death and provides little insight into effective communication strategies for healthcare providers, family members, friends, and lovers. The complexities of this unique communication will be assessed vis-à-vis an applied approach that includes a service-learning opportunity at a 51-bed hospice. In addition, the course will include self-reflection, autoethnography, an exploration of scholarly research in palliative communication, and scholarly interaction between undergraduate students in the classroom and the hospice setting.