Near-death experiences represent for a medical school curricu lum a watershed area between life and death, between science and experience, and between the known and the unknown. First-year medical students as nascent scientists and clinicians have complex and often intense feelings about realms that are at the border zones of their developing acumen. In this context, the near-death experience is an ideal topic for teaching profession alism and respect for individual patients, differing

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... and for colleagues who have differing sets of beliefs. Using videotaped presentations students were asked to explore their own and their peers' reactions to near-death experiences both in small group discussion format and using a web based discussion board. The inclusion of this topic early in medical school training was felt to be a valuable tool for developing both professionalism and collegiality. It also served to broaden the scientific viewpoint presented in the curriculum in a manner that promoted openness to and respect for patient perspective on life changing events.