Decrease Risk of Burnout

A study published in 2020 found that First Responders who had delivered 5 or more death notifications in a 12 month period demonstrated 73% greater odds of burnout. Fortunately, that same study found that the antidote to this problem was routine training, with findings showing a 29% reduction in the odds of burnout (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32584686).

What You'll Learn in our Death Notification Training:

Did you know that despite our best efforts in pre-hospital management of cardiac arrests, 90% of our patients will still die? Did you also know that the skill of delivering a death notification is not a standard part of state or national curriculum for first responders, or any healthcare professionals for that matter? With this course, we can change that standard.

  • What you should NEVER say to the survivor of a cardiac arrest and what to say instead.

  • Find out what stress hormone occurs in response to grief... HINT: it's not just cortisol

  • Understand not only what to say and do, but WHY it's important. Plus downloadable cheat sheets for easy reference!

  • Learn about PTSD and Occupational Resilience in our bonus module where you'll hear about the Terrible Ten.

  • Should you load and go with all pediatric cardiac arrests? You'll find out in Module 4!

Interested in Our Training for Your Organization?

Death Communication® has been integrated into training programs at educational institutions, ambulance agencies, and fire departments nationwide and has trained first responders around the world. Reach out to be part of the discussion.

What First Responders Are Saying

5 star rating

Information I wish I knew earlier

Dominic Aldo P

This course is invaluable. The information provided makes me more confident as a provider moving forward to be able to help a family with their grieving proc...

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This course is invaluable. The information provided makes me more confident as a provider moving forward to be able to help a family with their grieving process. Things I haven't thought about before or even considered were discussed through this course and I have already been in EMS a number of years.

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5 star rating

Excellent Long Overdue

Brian H

I have been a part of EMS since 1982, a class or subject such as this was never offered or even talked about. This class brought back so many memories of tim...

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I have been a part of EMS since 1982, a class or subject such as this was never offered or even talked about. This class brought back so many memories of times when dealing with the family's after the death of loved one. This course should be mandatory for all first responders as it addresses the need to be honest and empathetic with the family members after the death of a loved one. As an EMS educator we will be implementing this class for all students in our program. I can't stress enough how important this class is for all first responders this is long overdue. Thank you Alex for addressing a subject that is uncomfortable and almost everyone wants to avoid.

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5 star rating

Finally!

Melanie M T

This course was absolutely amazing! Probably the first and only course I've ever been offered to help me learn how to talk to family members and deliver the ...

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This course was absolutely amazing! Probably the first and only course I've ever been offered to help me learn how to talk to family members and deliver the news that their loved one has died. So so important, and I'm so grateful I got to take this course. I will definitely be carrying this knowledge with me for the rest of my career.

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5 star rating

Required for the tool box

stuart k

The training I received through Emergency Resilience is in a class of its own. Every academy in United Sates should have this as part of their curriculum. Th...

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The training I received through Emergency Resilience is in a class of its own. Every academy in United Sates should have this as part of their curriculum. Thank you very much for making this training available.

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5 star rating

Excellent course

Cody Ryan S

This course is very well put together and covers not only areas you know are a challenge, but covers areas that you may not have realized we have been un-edu...

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This course is very well put together and covers not only areas you know are a challenge, but covers areas that you may not have realized we have been un-educated and less proficient in.

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5 star rating

Finally!

Brandon I

This course is a missing piece in the first responder's arsenal of knowledge. Prior to this course, I was completely average at best with death notifications...

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This course is a missing piece in the first responder's arsenal of knowledge. Prior to this course, I was completely average at best with death notifications, but always felt like I was completely winging it. After this course, I feel like there is finally an outline to follow, which can help us first responders navigate confidently the pitfalls and difficult job of death notification! Great course!

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5 star rating

Outstanding Course

Chris C

This course effectively shines a light on a little talked about subject. Death communication can certainly go wrong if the wrong thing is said or done sendi...

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This course effectively shines a light on a little talked about subject. Death communication can certainly go wrong if the wrong thing is said or done sending an emotional scene further into chaos. Crew safety, pt care, family care and self care are well covered. Thank you!!

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5 star rating

Outstanding content related to dealing with Death + PTSD

Daren L K

Id suggest any EMS provider to review this content for CE's. It's very informative and well-structured. Dealing with dying patients and their families is not...

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Id suggest any EMS provider to review this content for CE's. It's very informative and well-structured. Dealing with dying patients and their families is not discussed enough and this course provides clarity on that subject end to end. I feel more confident now that I have the appropriate outline of dealing with patient death, my personal family death, and dealing with PTSD for myself and patients.

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5 star rating

Oustanding program

MARK T

This program is well organized and gets the critical points out to first responders concisely. I believe that many other programs can be launched for betteri...

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This program is well organized and gets the critical points out to first responders concisely. I believe that many other programs can be launched for bettering first responder's lives through this communication media. Thanks for all the help and support.

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5 star rating

Life Changing Learning

Cruz B

This course was brought about as extra credit for my initial education program, the lessons I've learnt in this course has been able to change the way I hand...

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This course was brought about as extra credit for my initial education program, the lessons I've learnt in this course has been able to change the way I handle things for the better

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5 star rating

Resourceful

Alyssa Erin M

I have so much respect for this platform you have created. Ive already from people that have been on the job for years who have never been taught or introduc...

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I have so much respect for this platform you have created. Ive already from people that have been on the job for years who have never been taught or introduced to what you're teaching. I thing that this is a HUGE seed you are planting and I really think you will have such a positive impact on both people new and experienced to the field and that impact will be able to reach even further through how we respond to calls.

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Quality You Can Trust

This is not your average online CE course...

  • First Responder Based

    Course is taught by a licensed paramedic who has been in your boots! Paired with a Master's degree in death and grief, over 10 years of teaching experience, and 18 years of experience in EMS, you'll be learning from someone you can likely relate to.

  • Flexible Learning

    Engaging material designed specifically for first responders with 42 interactive lessons in 7 Modules to complete at your own pace. Got a call? We'll save your spot for you to return to when you're ready.

  • Research Based

    This specialized curriculum cannot be found anywhere else but here. All coursework is paired with peer-reviewed sources and additional resources, including downloadable PDF's. This course has been vetted by a third-party curriculum committee and is nationally accredited by CAPCE.

Watch Intro Video

Click Here to Watch Trailer

Course Curriculum

Explore below to see what's included...

  • 2

    Module 1: Whose Job is it Anyway?

  • 3

    Module 2: About Grief

    • Module 2: About Grief

    • 2.1 Grief Injury

    • 2.2 Types of Grief

    • 2.3 Ritual. Community. Oxytocin.

    • M2: Reflection Entry

    • M2: Assess Your Learning

  • 4

    Module 3: The Impacts: Them and Us

    • Module 3: The Impacts: Them and Us

    • 3.1 Needs of the First Responder

    • 3.2 Needs of the Family/Bystander/Survivors

    • 3.3 Stress and the Brain

    • M3: Reflection Entry

    • M3: Assess Your Learning

  • 5

    Module 4: Special Considerations

    • Module 4: Special Considerations

    • 4.1 Scene Variables

    • 4.2 Pediatrics

    • 4.3 Grief and the First Responder

    • M4: Reflection Entry

    • M4: Assess Your Learning

  • 6

    Module 5: Putting it All Together

    • Module 5: Putting It All Together

    • 5.1 What to Expect

    • 5.2 Things to Do

    • 5.3 Say This, Not That

    • 5.4 Four Step Death Notification

    • M5: Reflection Entry

    • M5: Assess Your Learning

  • 7

    Bonus Module: Occupational Resilience

    • Intro: Occupational Resilience

    • Meet Ben

    • Deconstructing PTSD

    • EMDR, Proactive Solutions, and the Terrible Ten

    • OR: Reflection Entry

    • OR: Assess Your Learning

  • 8

    Final Points

    • Summary

    • Conclusion

    • Resource Folder

    • Post Course Survey

Death Communication®

For First Responders: How to deliver unfortunate news

Research continues to stress the importance of remaining on scene for up to 30 minutes to improve the outcome and survivability of cardiac arrest patients. But what happens when even the most successful efforts fail and a patient must now be pronounced on scene? Historically, institutions have failed to prepare first responders for this outcome, and "training" for this situation is experiential (trial and error) at best. In this class, you will learn the psychosocial skill of how to communicate with bystanders effectively, how to identify the process of grief, as well as understand the positive impact that first responders can have on the survivors when we make the choice to remain on scene.

Meet Your Instructor

Resilience Educator

Alexandra Jabr, Ph.D, EMT-P

Since beginning my EMS career in 2003, I have played many parts in the system, including EMT, Paramedic, cardiac tech, CQi specialist, and instructor. Still, my most fulfilling one to date is my role as a Resilience Educator and creator of Emergency Resilience. I earned a Masters's degree in death, grief, and bereavement and my Ph.D. in depth psychology. As a first responder, I've taken my time in the field, added my personal experiences as a bystander, and merged it with my research to create courses designed especially for first responders. Emergency Resilience is an educational platform dedicated to helping you build resilience in unpredictable work environments by integrating marginal topics into routine training.