Appearances can be deceiving: aging, homelessness, and acute care
June 17, 2013
Before reading any further, stop to think about the last older homeless adult you saw. If you are a…
Hospice and the Transgendered
June 12, 2013
by: Robert Killeen MD Hospice is beset by many societal obstacles in its care of the transgendered patient. I saw…
Prognostic Disclosure and Other Palliative Care Needs in Dialysis Patients
June 7, 2013
“Doctors are terrible at prognostication.” This is a line that I often hear from other doctors in clinical practice. While…
What Is A “Natural” Death, Anyway?
May 23, 2013
by: Alex Smith, @alexsmithMD Eric kicked off the week posting about a study comparing use of the phrase “Allow Natural…
The Clinician as the Choice Architect – Nudging an Informed Choice About CPR
May 23, 2013
by: Eric Widera (@ewidera) In the first two posts of “code discussion week” we talked about how preferences for cardiopulmonary…
Changing the Default Code Status to DNR for Seriously Ill Patients
May 21, 2013
by: Alex Smith @alexsmithMD What if the above form was the default for patients with serious illness? Most current advance directive…
It’s all in the Framing: How to Influence Surrogates’ Code Status Decisions
May 20, 2013
by: Eric Widera (@ewidera) We intuitively know that the words we choose when talking about whether or not to attempt…
Point/Counterpoint: Using Deception, Study Finds Clinics Violate Disabilities Act; Should Clinics Be Protected?
May 13, 2013
Point: Physicians do not deserve IRB protections like vulnerable patients by: Sei Lee The recent article by Lagu and colleagues…
When Staying Silent is No Longer Acceptable
May 9, 2013
A Guantanamo detainee’s feet are shackled to the floor, April 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Michelle Shephard, Pool) (Credit: Associated Press) Recent…
Using YouTube Movie Clips to Teach Breaking Bad News
May 7, 2013
Some of my favorite teaching incorporates video. Recently, I saw an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) DVD with movie excerpts…