Following the bubonic plague of the 14th century, which decimated two thirds of Europe's population, the Roman Catholic Church responded with a call for the articulation of an ars moriendi, or art of dying, that could guide laypersons in their preparation for death. The body of literature that...

Irwin M. Braverman, MD ’55, is the co-creator of Yale School of Medicine's Workshop on Observational Skills, which has been offered since the late 1990s. Jacqueline Dolev, MD ’01, was one of the first students in the course, and wrote her medical school thesis on it. Fifteen years later, the...