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Medicine and Grief During the COVID-19 EraThe Art of Losing

Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article
1 Credit CME

In a matter of months, coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has transformed not just how we live but also how we leave this world.1 Physicians and nurses struggle to accompany patients who die alone and support families who cannot follow the usual customs of grief: gathering at hospitals, attending funerals, sitting shiva.2

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CME Disclosure Statement: Unless noted, all individuals in control of content reported no relevant financial relationships. If applicable, all relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

Article Information

Corresponding Author: Amrapali Maitra, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115 (amaitra@bwh.harvard.edu).

Published Online: October 26, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.5635

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Acknowledgements: I thank Amy Ship, MD, and Kham Kidia, MD, for thoughtful input and Jennifer Claytor, MD, for her skillful guidance. None was compensated for their work. I thank my parents for granting permission to share my grandparents’ stories.

References
1.
Ungerleider  S .  Virtual grieving: is there no closure if there is no goodbye?  San Francisco Chronicle. April 14, 2020. Accessed September 24, 2020. https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Virtual-grieving-Is-there-closure-if-there-is-no-15198399.php
2.
Levitz  J , Berger  P .  “I’m sorry I can’t kiss you”—coronavirus victims are dying alone.  Wall Street Journal. April 10, 2020. Accessed September 24, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/im-sorry-i-cant-kiss-youcoronavirus-victims-are-dying-alone-11586534526
3.
Bishop  E . “One Art.” In:  The Complete Poems 1926-1979. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; 1983.
4.
COVID Paper Virtual Funeral Collective.  Death, grief, and funerals in the COVID age.  Updated June 10, 2020. Accessed September 24, 2020. https://www.covidpaper.org/
AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

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