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This research explored students’ lived experiences, the challenges encountered, and the educational strategies students believed would strengthen communication competence. Semi-structured interviews with third- to fifth-year students were analyzed using reflexive thematic methods. 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BMC Medical Education (2026) 26:3 BMC Medical Education  \n[https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-08297-y](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-08297-y)  \nRESEARCH Open Access  \nMedical student’s experiences of communication with dying patients and their families  \nIsaac Frost 1*, Hugh Alberti 1 and Rebecca Holdsworth 1,2  \nAbstract  \nIntroduction Effective communication with dying patients is an essential skill for doctors at all stage of their careers. However, many newly qualified doctors remain unprepared to communicate with dying patients and their families. This study aimed to explore medical students’ experiences and challenges in communicating with dying patients and to identify strategies they perceive could improve their communication skills. The motivation for this research stemmed from the personal experience of the lead author: despite an interest in the topic, he had found that he lacked the necessary tools to handle these situations confidently. This study sought to explore whether other medical students share this feeling, and thus adding a novel contribution to the field.  \nMethods Medical students from years three to five were invited to participate in semi-structured individual interviews. A total of eight interviews were conducted and used in the final analysis. Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken following the Braun and Clarke model.  \nResults Three key themes were constructed from the data: (1) the importance of communication with dying patients,(2) the challenges faced by students, including inadequate teaching, gaps in communication skills, clinical variability, emotional impact and complexity in communication, and (3) strategies for improving education, with students suggesting course improvements to better prepare them for future clinical practice.  \nDiscussion Medical students feel unprepared to communicate with dying patients, citing limited exposure, emotional difficulties and insufficient teaching. This study highlights the need for: improved medical training that prioritises communication with dying patients, earlier and increased student exposure to these situations and further research to determine effective strategies to resolve this issue. By addressing these gaps, we can improve the care provided to dying patients and their families, ultimately fostering greater trust between families and healthcare providers.  \nKeywords End of life, Communication, Education, Medical student, Dying, Palliative care, Undergraduate, Experience, Challenges  \n*Correspondence:  \nIsaac Frost  \n[I.D.F@live.co.uk](I.D.F@live.co.uk)  \n1School of Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK  \n2National Institute for Health and Care Research, London, England, UK  \n© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by/4.0/.  \nFrost et al. BMC Medical Education (2026) 26:3  \nIntroduction  \nIn the evolving landscape of medicine, the ability to care for dying patients is an essential skill [1, 2]. Yet, despite thirty years since the first version of the GMCs document‘Tomorrows Doctors’ being released, which out","cbCaitO358kSsfIP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitO358kSsfIP","pdf",1002281,"English","# Introduction\n# Methods\n# Results\n# Discussion","[{\"question\":\"What was the aim of the study?\",\"answer\":\"To explore medical students’ experiences and challenges in communicating with dying patients and their families, and to identify strategies they perceive could improve their communication skills.\"},{\"question\":\"How were participants and data collected?\",\"answer\":\"Medical students in years three to five participated in semi-structured individual interviews. Eight interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis based on the Braun and Clarke model.\"},{\"question\":\"What key themes did the study identify?\",\"answer\":\"Three themes were developed: the importance of communication with dying patients; student challenges including inadequate teaching, skill gaps, clinical variability, emotional impact, and complexity; and strategies for improving education through course changes to better prepare students for future practice.\"}]","Medical student’s experiences of communication with dying patients and their families | PDF",1790715396,25]