ASM 295 - Death and Dying

1. Foundational aspects of Death.
   1. Describe the importance of individuality in grief response
   2. Differentiate definitions of death
   3. Explain how attitudes impact on the perception of death
   4. Delineate the varied situational and behavioral factors, which may impact on a person?s grief response to death
   5. Compare and contrast between the taboos of sex and death
   6. Outline the changing aspect of language and customs
   7. Differentiate between how death has been addressed in rural vs urban settings, then in current society
2. Determinants of Grief: Antecedent variables
   1. Explain how childhood and later life experiences set the stage for successful or unsuccessful management of grief
   2. Describe the circumstances under which a previous mental illness may either be helpful or harmful in grief resolution
   3. List examples of possible life crises, which may impact on grief resolution
   4. Describe the importance of one’s relationship to the deceased
   5. List and describe the three factors, which reveal the magnitude of the response to death
3. Determinants of Grief: Concurrent variables
   1. Analyze the research finding regarding sexual and age factors in relation to childhood and adulthood
   2. Elaborate on the proneness and inhibition of feelings, which are found in the personality of the bereaved
   3. Detail how the sociological factors of faith, ambivalence, and family influence the expression of grief
4. Determinants of Grief: Subsequent variables
   1. Describe how relationships are altered after death
   2. Compare and contrast between the minor and major stressors resulting from the death of a loved one
5. Typical Responses of the bereaved
   1. Compare and contrast the grief responses for a child, an adolescent, and the adult
   2. Compare and contrast the grief responses between the male and the female adult
6. Approaches to Grief Resolution
   1. List and describe the similarities and differences between the four thanatological researchers: Kubler-Ross, Parkes, Bowlby, and Kavanaugh
   2. Design a grief approach of your own and be able to defend it
7. Difficult case studies
   1. Analyze and explain the difficulties in the brain death case of Karen Ann Quinlan
   2. Analyze and explain the difficulties in the transplant case of Bruce Tucker
   3. Illustrate some possible resolution to the aforementioned case studies
   4. Design, in a small group of fellow classmates, criteria by which your group agree on how to select the hypothetical patents in the Kidney Machine Game, which would not receive treatment. Defend your group choice in class
8. Life application: Facing One’s Own Death
   1. Describe and differentiate between a Last Will and Testament, a Living Will, and Advanced Directives
   2. Examine the preparation and implementation of end of life legal documents
   3. Describe the value in each of the aforementioned
   4. Develop your ideal hospice care for yourself and share this plan with the class