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APA Newsletters
Fall 1999
Volume 99, Number 1

Newsletter on Philosophy and Medicine

Announcements

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New Book

Galen Press (P.O. Box 64400, Tucson, AZ 85728-4400; 800-442-5369) just published: Grave Words: Notifying Survivors About Sudden, Unexpected Deaths (ISBN: 1-883-620-02-3; $38.95 paperback; approximately 350 pages; more than 500 references; indexed). It is a very practical handbook that includes:

• Multiple step-by-step protocols;

• Many stories of both good and bad notifications;

• The spectrum of notifiers (physicians—especially emergency medicine and obstetrics, chaplains, nurses, EMS personnel, police, school administrators, etc.);

• Methods (in-person and via telephone);

• Special survivor groups (parents, children, disaster survivors);

• A curriculum and methods to teach it in varying situations;

• Slide sets with key protocols and information are also available; and

• Pocket booklets with the key protocols help notifiers review procedures before notifications.

This book emerged after Dr. Iserson encountered three successive episodes where acute death notification was done badly. After a long career in emergency medicine plus a career that began in 1967 in the emergency medical (ambulance) service, he recognized that this task needed to be taught in a logical and orderly manner. Notifying survivors after sudden deaths is one of the most stressful activities medical personnel, chaplains, police, educators, disaster workers, and social workers do as part of their professional activities. The subject is rarely taught, or for that matter, discussed. This book and the associated slide sets and pocket booklets fill a long-unmet need for comprehensive educational materials that are easy to read, understand, and use. Although it is heavily referenced (>500 references), it is written in an easy-to-read style.

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