End-of-life care often missing in curriculum of U.S. medical schools, Washington State University study reveals

Logan Patterson graduated in May 2025 from Washington State University’s College of Medicine and is currently a resident at the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. During his four years of medical school, he says that he got almost no formal training in end-of-life care, including how to talk with patients and their families about death and dying.    

It turns out that his experience is hardly unique, according to a new study Patterson co-authored and recently published with his former colleagues at Washington State University.

The researchers reviewed the two largest medical journal databases to look for papers published between January 2010 and April 2025 about death and dying instruction  in U.S. medical schools. They found only 43 articles on this topic and wide variability on how death and dying is being taught, from a single seminar on advanced care planning to required rotations in hospice and palliative care settings. The researchers argue that U.S. medical schools lack a consistent and evidence-based curriculum for end-of-life care. 

Dr. Patterson joins us for more details, including the social and academic challenges of effectively teaching death and dying to students to help prepare them for some of the toughest conversations they may soon be forced to have with their patients.