Course on Death and Dying for Medical Students / 의학교육논단

ABSTRACT

The aim of modern medicine is to prolong life by fighting death. Doctors have traditionally believed that this was an ethical good deed. The negative connotation surrounding death has led to the avoidance of terminally ill patients. But in a modern society where death is medicalized, doctors have to see dying patients every day and are in a state of guilt from implementing meaningless life-sustaining treatments. Therefore, medical schools should allow medical students to embrace a new perspective through death education.Yonsei University Medical College has implemented death education since 2017 as an optional class for first and second year medical students. Students watch videos related to death once a week for 6 weeks and submit their reflections by e-mail. The professor reads the students’ reflections and gives them weekly feedback. Through this coursework, students realize that death is not a medical event, but rather a part of life and completion. The ultimate purpose of death education is to transform blind life-absolutist identity into narrative identity.