2021 Death and Dying Fellowship Concludes

The 2021 Death and Dying Fellowship concluded on March 22.

The all-virtual 2021 Jewish Healthcare Foundation Death and Dying Fellowship concluded its nine-session run on March 22. The Fellowship takes on the challenge that professionals are not well prepared to deal with death, dying, and grieving families, especially during an era of COVID-19. This year's Fellowship enabled 36 fellows to learn, confront, and discuss the legal, medical, social, cultural, familial, and spiritual aspects of death and dying within a multi-disciplinary group in a low-pressure environment. The 2021 Fellowship also took advantage of a virtual world's opportunities, as the program welcomed speakers from outside of Pittsburgh.

During the finale session, Dr. Robert Arnold, Chief Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics at the University of Pittsburgh presented to help fellows establish how they can have better conversations about end of life. He discussed the importance of improving skills through practice, expert guidance, and developing an understanding of yourself as a provider.

The fellows then went into breakout sessions to practice end of life conversations using case studies, with feedback from expert facilitators.

The session closed with reflections from fellows, staff, and guest faculty, who discussed how the fellowship has impacted their work.

"My time with the Death and Dying Fellowship has been an eye-opening experience to the current discussions and topics surrounding death and dying, especially in the COVID-19 world," said Noah Dimas, PhD student of Catholic Healthcare Ethics at Duquesne University. "I am very grateful to the JHF for allowing me to experience this fellowship and I look forward to utilizing these skills and knowledge I gained as I venture further into my studies in Healthcare Ethics."