Death Education aims to explore the various aspects of death and its impact on individuals and society. As a nursing professor, the taboo subject of death and care for the dying is not a focus in a four-year baccalaureate nursing program. In 2012, I developed a course titled Death and Dying: Life and Living and offered it to nursing students as an elective. Throughout the years, the course has advanced into an interdisciplinary elective course with members from the public also attending. I offer the course during the evening of the winter semesters. It is in high demand with astronomical waitlists leaving the author to ponder that there is a desire for death education in higher education. The course explores the ethical and cultural aspects of death, grief and loss, and even pet loss. The goal of the course is to promote a greater understanding of death, dying, and grief. It also helps in increasing compassion in end-of-life care and bereavement support for others. My intent for this presentation is to influence others by potentially exploring the notion of death education in other institutions.

Speaker: Michelle N. Borgland

Published in: Ireland International Conference on Education (IICE-2025)

• Date of Conference: 8-10 April, 2025
• DOI: 10.20533/IICE.2025.0015
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-78-5
• Conference Location: Dún Laoghaire, Ireland