… MacAuley’s excellent essay on “Patients who make ‘wrong’ choices” … ”Ironically, for all of palliative care’s talk of total suffering, we may be unwilling to accept that a patient’s emotional suffering over choosing a palliative course of treatment may be more severe than eventual projected physical suffering from an aggressive course … In the […]
dylan thomas … & the palliative care box … Read More »
… Giorgio Israel in “Medicine Between Humanism and Mechanism” in Journal of Medicine and the Person discusses important foundational issues pertinent to the daily practice of medicine. “Radically objectivistic medicine replaces the idea of “cure/treatment” with the idea of “repair”. It stops listening to the patient and renders the role of clinical practice drastically marginal
medicine … between art & science … Read More »
… Kross et. al. in “Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain” use functional MRI to show that “rejection [recent break-up of a relationship] and physical pain are similar not only in that they are both distressing—they share a common somatosensory representation as well.” Pain is what the patient says it is … but
breaking up is painful … Read More »
… Gawande writes about ‘hot spotters’ … “An important idea is getting its test run in America: the creation of intensive outpatient care to target hot spots, and thereby reduce over-all health-care costs.” A common factor these programs share is intense one-on-one care and accompaniment by an interdisciplinary team … “My philosophy about primary care
patients only a mother could love … Read More »
… Frank Davidoff in a recent Annals of Internal Medicine “Music Lessons” … “Recognition of music’s laserlike focus on performance could help us regain a more appropriate balance in medicine between knowledge and performance (between knowing and knowing how).” Perfect practice makes perfect … “Endless performance without feedback drifts into stagnation, whereas endless reflecting and
what musicians can teach doctors … Read More »
Janssen and Macleod in Pall & Supportive Care talk to patients and their caregivers about how doctors do (or do not) care for them as individuals. “Building a caring human relationship begins with doctors recognizing themselves and each patient as individuals first and foremost. A connection invited on that level provides a firm base on
What does care mean …? Read More »
… of healing … 1. be truly present to the moment 2. trust 3. attend to your whole person needs 4. be open to deeper relating 5. listen to your intuition 6. create 7. develop your self-reflective skills 8. be gentle with yourself 9. think small 10. celebrate
bal mount’s 10 commandments … Read More »
Kane summarizes the options patients and families have when they are discharged from the hospital to another health care venue. a key concern … “Often social workers are really concerned with the immediate discharge plan … from their facility’s perspective; they’re not always as in tune with the future placement options for that [patient].” Mor
discharge planning … sicker & quicker Read More »
… factors that influence family member’s perception of their loved ones prognosis … an experiential study in a recent Critical Care Medicine. Among major influences on family member’s understanding of prognosis … – patient’s intrinsic qualities and will to live – patient’s physical appearance or status – patient’s prior history of illness/survival – power of
more than “just what the doctor says” … Read More »
Balfour Mount quotes Phil Simmons … The thing itself, like the predawn moment, is always new when we are truly present to it. I would concur with Phil: “More and more I find that dwelling in the present moment, in the face of everything that would call us out of it, is our highest spiritual
the present moment … our gateway to eternal life Read More »
