Program Development

Responses identified several recurring themes related to grief exposure, training needs, communication, provider wellness, and organizational support. 

Respondents represented medicine, nursing, psychosocial support, and rehabilitation, with most working in inpatient and outpatient hospital settings. A majority reported frequent exposure to death and bereavement in their work, with over half indicating they encounter death often or very often. This finding underscores how grief can be a routine part of care across disciplines and settings.

While just over half of respondents reported participating in some form of grief or end-of-life training, prior education was more likely to include stage-based models of grief rather than contemporary, evidence-informed frameworks. Nearly half reported exposure to Kübler-Ross stages, while far fewer reported training in contemporary grief theory, specific communication strategies, or strategies for responding to grieving colleagues. This finding suggests that clinicians are being trained using outdated or incomplete models.

Only about one in five respondents reported feeling highly confident in communicating with grieving or dying individuals or in supporting the emotional experiences of grieving patients and their supporters. Most reported only feeling somewhat confident or a moderate level of confidence in their skills under these circumstances, highlighting a gap between exposure to grief and preparedness to respond skillfully.

No respondents reported lack of interest in grief training. The most commonly cited barrier to receiving training in grief and end-of-life care was lack of awareness of available trainings, followed by time and funding constraints. Many also noted that available trainings were not sufficiently advanced or targeted to their career stage, pointing to the need for tiered or role-specific offerings.

Respondents expressed strong interest in training that includes specific language for difficult conversations, concrete practices to support grieving individuals, cultural considerations, and contemporary grief frameworks. There was also substantial interest in understanding the cognitive, behavioral, and physiological effects of grief, and in strategies for personal wellness.

An overwhelming majority of respondents indicated that systems-level improvements related to death, dying, and grief are important. Common themes included the need for embedded training, protected time for reflection and debriefing, culturally responsive care, improved communication processes, designated spaces for grieving families, and organizational support for provider wellness and moral distress.

Many respondents reported that patient and family grief contributes to their own burnout and affects personal wellness. Time constraints were the most common barrier to self-care, along with lack of organizational support and limited opportunities to process grief. While most reported having some self-care strategies, the data highlight ongoing strain and the need for institutional support, beyond a singular focus on individual coping approaches

Open-ended responses underscored the emotional impact of repeated exposure to death, the value of debriefing and peer support, and frustration with productivity pressures that limit time for grief-sensitive care. Many respondents emphasized that grief, death, and dying should be core components of healthcare education and not treated as optional or peripheral topics.