Death Telling

This is something I wrote last year, but I think its relevant to what was presented in conference today.  I wasn’t able to attend, but here’s my thoughts on the subject.

I remember the first time I ever told a family that their loved one had died.  It was my first year of residency.  The patient arrived in cardiac arrest.  Despite multiple rounds of ACLS we couldn’t get a pulse back.  At the end, my attending asked me if I wanted to talk to the family.  I confidently said “sure” and nervously walked back to the family room where pastoral care had taken them family.