Campus programs focus on death, dying issues America has been called a death-denying society. Current data indicates that physicians often have difficulty knowing when cure is no longer possible and when patient care efforts should instead focus on quality comfort care for the dying patient. Since 1979, the College of Medicine has sponsored the course, Death and the Human Experience, for medical students. Originally offered to seniors as a full-time elective, the course explored the different stages of the dying process. A key challenge with the program is to use all available means to disseminate educational information to physicians across the state.
Efforts are underway to acquire continuing medical education accreditation for the program.
The collaborative includes the South Carolina Health Care Alliance, Hospice for the Carolinas, MUSC, USC and other institutions of higher education in South Carolina. Once developed, the curriculum would also be made available to other similar sites across the country. The College of Medicine is currently involved in curriculum revision. Few medical schools across the country presently have a specific focus on these key areas. MUSC is in a unique position to develop a model curriculum in this regard.