Coping with Loss

In a cure-focused profession, the death of a patient can often feel like a failure. Yet, every patient will inevitably transition from health to illness, independence to dependence, and life to death. These transitions often mark some of the most meaningful interactions between patients and care providers. Coping with Loss is a self-directed workbook that addresses common questions, concerns, and emotional responses to these interactions with dying patients. Each lesson opens with real stories of professional grief that will resonate with healthcare professionals at multiple stages of their careers. Critical topics covered include recognizing the diverse presentations of grief, identifying dying patients, decompressing individually, and debriefing as a team. Significant portions of the text discuss how challenging patient cases impact the formation of professional identity. Ultimately, this workbook provides a place for healthcare providers to reflect on their patient interactions and learn how to support themselves and their healthcare teams through grief.