June 14 from - 9am-6pm - Madison, WI
Join us on June 14 in Madison, Wisconsin, from 9am–6pm for a specialized in-person course tailored for our friends in healthcare. This immersive, full-day training offers a unique convergence of traditional medical insight and the compassionate, holistic approach of death doulaship. Co-taught by seasoned death doula Erin Merelli and Jill Hill, NP— hospice nurse and ER manager who has witnessed the realities of death firsthand—this course is tailored specifically for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of end-of-life care - or - for anyone else ready to sit in on this equally intense and sensitive discussion.
Together, we’ll guide you through the foundational philosophies and practical skills of death doulaship, including the phases of care from Preparedness + Legacy to The 11th Hour and Crafting Funerals. Delve into eco-conscious deathcare with cutting-edge green burial practices, explore how to honor grief through personalized rituals and ceremonies, and analyze real-life case studies that bridge the gap between medical practice and compassionate death education.
Enjoy a catered lunch, engage in dynamic discussions, and leave with a certificate in death doula training for healthcare providers. With tuition set at $480 and limited to just 40 participants, this is a rare opportunity to enrich your practice, transform your approach to end-of-life care, and ultimately, reflect the lasting impact of someone's life while deepening your own.
Jill Hill RN MSN
Witnessing death both peacefully and traumatically, Jill is a Hospice RN with a Critical Care and
OR background. Jill brings an element of clinical knowledge to Death education. As health care
providers, we are taught to “First do no harm”, that includes honoring the patient’s wishes and
including their beliefs and wishes at the end of life. A colleague once told me, “We are born
once, and die once, let’s do it right”. As health care providers there is so much more, we can
provide those who are transitioning into the next life without machines and traditional
medicines. The best thing we can do, I have firsthand witnessed, is to be present with the
knowledge of that of the Death Doula and provide peace and comfort to those who are passing.
Death Doulas provide that extra layer of human connection during the 11 th hour that often gets
overlooked in the clinical setting. Providing support to the patient and the family is crucial as
you only get one opportunity to do so. Join me in bridging the gap between compassionate
death education and the clinical setting.
Jill Hill RN MSN is a nurse with 7 years of operating room experience and 8 years of critical care.
Now a hospice RN, experiences death at the bedside on a regular basis and incorporates that of
a Death Doula into her practice daily.
Class Outline:
Enjoy a catered, interactive lunch designed to foster informal discussions and reflection on the morning sessions.
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Content: Introduce the core philosophy and role of a death doula by exploring the three phases of care: Preparedness + Legacy, The 11th Hour, and Post Mortem Care.
Dual Perspectives: Emphasize how these foundational principles resonate with both the compassionate approaches of death doulaship and the clinical protocols observed in medical end‑of‑life care.
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Content: Delve into anticipatory care by discussing strategies to prepare for death, create legacy through preserving stories and rituals, face fears and plan for end‑of‑life wishes.
Dual Perspectives: Integrate the death doula’s empathetic communication techniques with medical real‑life examples, highlighting approaches from hospice, emergency care, and other clinical settings. Consider how one model might encompass the other to provide higher quality of care.
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Content: Explore the practical and emotional dynamics of supporting individuals during the final moments of life.
Dual Perspectives: Combine the death doula’s focus on presence, comfort, and holistic support with the medical model for emergency care resulting in death. Discuss the implications of this on survivor grief.
Lunch Break (60 minutes | 12:15–1:15)
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Content: Examine current practices, innovations, and challenges within the modern funeral industry.
Dual Perspectives: Discuss how industry trends interface with compassionate end‑of‑life care—balancing the operational realities of funeral homes with the personal, holistic approaches of death doulaship and medical protocols. Compare the way a doula interfaces with the funeral industry vs how the medical personnel does. Discuss the technique of embalming,
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Content: Investigate regenerative, eco‑conscious disposition options such as green burials, water cremation, and natural organic reduction.
Dual Perspectives: Examine both the symbolic, holistic narrative of returning to the Earth championed by progressive deathcare, and the factual, regenerative science behind it.
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Content: Focus on designing personalized rituals and ceremonies that honor the deceased while providing support for the grieving process.
Dual Perspectives: Integrate the creative, empathetic methods of death doulaship for crafting meaningful ceremonies with the clinical perspective on post‑death protocols and structured grief support. Consider the unmet grief needs of the medical and caretaker communities.
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Content: Engage in interactive case studies that ask you to step into the role of a death dpula and workshop real cases.
Dual Perspectives: Through group discussion and scenario analysis, merge death doula techniques with medical insights to develop comprehensive, empathetic approaches to care. This interactive session is designed to solidify learning and foster collaborative reflection on real‑world applications.
The Class:
What recent students have said:
“Erin, you are so warm and inviting. You set a strong tone for this industry and I’m so glad I did this class in-person because a lot of the nuance and healing would be hard to get online and without community. I am in awe of everyone in attendance turning their pain into power.”
“Thanks so much for our training. The only critique I have is that I just want more I left feeling full and satisfied for the moment, and also wanting more.”
“I really enjoyed the workshop and everything you shared with us! Learning more about the funeral industry and burial options was incredibly eye-opening and super interesting to me. I also really loved the whole concept of Legacy doulaship and feel like that could be a lovely intersection of some of my other seemingly random passions, so thank you SO SO MUCH for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. It is SO needed!”