Conversations In Palliative Care

This book will be the first of its kind to offer intensive conversation analysis on patient-clinician interactions in the context of palliative medicine. The book focuses on a series of individual case studies of conversations that revolve, in each case, around one key critical term that is often evoked or understood differently by clinicians and patients.

Two men face two very different deaths: One, a renowned palliative care doctor, grapples with the reality he helped so many to confront. The other, an ordinary man, faces an ordinary death. Conversations on Dying is a compelling portrayal of two final journeys that challenges you to ask, ''What death would I choose?''

Dying - which we all inevitably must do - can be appreciably better for each of us if we approach end of life conversations early, while we still have the capacity to make our own decisions. This book can help us all with this. In addition, Courageous Conversations on Dying guides physicians in their role of supporting patients and families through decision-making for end of life, concentrating on patients' goals. Whether we are physicians, patients, family members, or caring individuals who want the best possible end of life experience for ourselves and each other, we must acquire the skills for loving, fruitful conversations. In this book, you'll learn how to prepare for these conversations, including what kind of setting, what words to use, how to be a good listener, how to empathize, how to help in decision-making, how to properly document end of life wishes, and more, along with many case studies to illustrate the points.

I spend my days explaining to people how they can expect to die. The Conversations of Palliative Care is a book related to decisions people have to make at end of life as well as those asked of them in the months or years leading up to then. It is a book designed to get people to begin to realize how their illnesses affect them and what the natural course of their illness is expected to be. A variety of topics related to this unique time in a person’s life is described as well as considerations for those who provide palliative care. Symptom management, staff angst, ethical issues, documentation, religious and social needs are addressed as well as specifics related to disease states, among other issues. The information is then personified through case studies: within a hospital, at a private residence, and a pediatric vignette. The purpose of this book is to raise awareness to end-of-life decisions patients are asked to make while increasing the comfort level of the medical staff who care for them. Ultimately, palliative care increases patient empowerment and knowledge about their bodies and unique set of medical diagnoses. Decisions they ultimately make regarding medical interventions are aligned to their person beliefs. These decisions are truly made in an educated manner. Utilized correctly, palliative care follows a person throughout the health care continuum. .

In this "enlightening" (Jane Brody, New York Times) book, Harvard Medical School physician Angelo E. Volandes offers a solution to traumatic end-of-life care: talking, medicine's oldest tool. There is an unspoken dark side of American medicine--keeping patients alive at any price. Two thirds of Americans die in healthcare institutions, tethered to machines and tubes at bankrupting costs, even though research shows that most prefer to die at home in comfort, surrounded by loved ones. Dr. Angelo E. Volandes believes that a life well lived deserves a good ending. Through the stories of seven patients and seven very different end-of-life experiences, he demonstrates that what people with a serious illness, who are approaching the end of their lives, need most is not new technologies but one simple thing: The Conversation. He argues for a radical re-envisioning of the patient-doctor relationship and offers ways for patients and their families to talk about this difficult issue to ensure that patients will be at the center and in charge of their medical care. It might be the most important conversation you ever have.

Physicians who care for patients with life-threatening illnesses face daunting communication challenges. Patients and family members can react to difficult news with sadness, distress, anger, or denial. This book defines the specific communication tasks involved in talking with patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Topics include delivering bad news, transition to palliative care, discussing goals of advance-care planning and do-not-resuscitate orders, existential and spiritual issues, family conferences, medical futility, and other conflicts at the end of life. Drs Anthony Back, Robert Arnold, and James Tulsky bring together empirical research as well as their own experience to provide a roadmap through difficult conversations about life-threatening issues. The book offers both a theoretical framework and practical conversational tools that the practising physician and clinician can use to improve communication skills, increase satisfaction, and protect themselves from burnout.

This practical handbook will equip readers with the tools to have meaningful conversations about death and dying Death is a part of life. We used to understand this, and in the past, loved ones generally died at home with family around them. But in just a few generations, death has become a medical event, and we have lost the ability to make this last part of life more personal and meaningful. Today people want to regain control over health-care decisions for themselves and their loved ones. Talking About Death Won’t Kill You is the essential handbook to help Canadians navigate personal and medical decisions for the best quality of life for the end of our lives. Noted palliative-care educator and researcher Kathy Kortes-Miller shows readers how to identify and reframe limiting beliefs about dying with humor and compassion. With robust resource lists, Kortes-Miller addresses advance care plans for ourselves and our loved ones how to have conversations about end-of-life wishes with loved ones how to talk to children about death how to build a compassionate workplace practical strategies to support our colleagues how to talk to health-care practitioners how to manage challenging family dynamics as someone is dying what is involved in medical assistance in dying (MAID) Far from morbid, these conversations are full of meaning and life — and the relief that comes from knowing what your loved ones want, and what you want for yourself.