摘要：Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine clerkship students' perspective towards delivering death notifications. An additional purpose of the study was to identify the learning needs of students following a role play exercise in delivering death notifications. Methods: Participants in this study were fourth-year medical students (N=86) ranging in age from 22-43 years with a mean age of 27.1 years. There were 28 women and 58 men. Questionnaires, consisting of open-ended questions and a visual analogue scale (VAS), were administered before and after the "Marathon Death" role play exercise. Results: Six categories emerged from the analysis of the questionnaire: communication, emotions, self-development, exercise-related, learning opportunities and tools and strategies. Results from the visual analogue scale showed that the majority of students (60%) needed to practice how to deliver difficult messages in death notifications. After taking part in the role-playing activity with video playback, where the students had an opportunity to view, discuss and reenact scenarios, seventy-six out of 78 (97.4%) stated that they had received training in communication skills. The responding students rated the exercise as highly relevant, scoring it a mean of 91 on a VAS scale of 0 to 100 mm. Conclusions: Students are not competent in the communication skills required for delivering death notifications. A majority of students expressed a need for training in communication skills. The "Marathon Death" role play exercise provides initial training and emotional support for delivering a death notification. However, further empirical studies are required about the effect of the exercise on delivering the notification of death.
