Pastor Phil,
I used to teach junior nursing students on an oncology unit. They were often in their early 20s (some not even 21 yet), and often the most important death in their family had been a pet. So...this unit was very difficult for some of them. The absolute best clinical conference I had was when I brought in a Catholic nun and a Rabbi to talk about death and dying. This was a tremendous discussion, and I would highly recommend this to anyone teaching clinical nursing.