Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! Y'all, it's been a week. We've been caught up in the whirlwind of moving, and we are still crawling out from under a mountain of boxes and cling wrap. Needless to say, with everything going on in life it's been challenging to stay regular with the content creation. But I couldn't leave you hanging. I snuck a new video in right under the wire last night! And though it may be last minute, it is a very important...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! This week I published a satirical skit to highlight the communication gap that so often exists between clinicians and families – especially when the topic is the prognosis of a serious illness. Communication is an interesting thing. It’s easy to forget that our communication preferences are just that – preferences. The way we best deliver and receive information is highly individualized, and those differences...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! When things get medically complicated, having the right kind of help can go a long way. That’s what this week’s videos are about. First up: The Medical Emergency FolderYou’ve got one, right?It’s the folder you grab in a crisis—so EMTs, ER staff, or nursing facility staff know your wishes and medical treatment preferences.I walk through the 3 documents to keep inside: A Healthcare Power of Attorney A POLST /...
24 days ago • 1 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! Last week, I shared a video about a recent international survey of physicians and their end-of-life preferences. The findings were striking: across countries and specialties, doctors overwhelmingly say they would choose comfort-focused care over aggressive interventions if they were seriously ill and nearing the end of life. That video sparked a lot of chatter - but one comment in particular stuck with me. I’m...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! This week, a commentary in The Guardian caught my attention. The author reflects on the results of a recent survey published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, which asked over 1,100 doctors what treatments they would want at the end of life — specifically if they had end-stage dementia or terminal cancer. The results were striking: the overwhelming majority of doctors said they would not want to be hooked up...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! This week I talk about an often unrecognized red flag in the hospital - delirium. Delirium is a sudden change in brain function that can look like aggression, excessive sleepiness, or difficulty concentrating. And while it may just seem like someone is "off" or had a "bad night" it is a major red flag for something more serious brewing underneath the surface. The list of causes of delirium is a mile long and...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! Just one video this week, but it's an important one. This week's video is something of an addendum to one from last week, to ensure I wasn't fueling a misconception about hospice care. There is a misconception that hospice just "stops everything" - all treatments, all medications, everything - for every single patient. This is simply not true. Hospice teams take a thoughtful approach to your care plan,...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! Not too long ago, I posed this question to the Instagram and Facebook audience: "What's one thing about palliative care you wish you had learned a whole lot sooner?" I have to be honest, I was not prepared for the sheer volume of responses! But I did go through each and every response. And one theme clearly stood out: People are connecting with palliative care way too late in their illness - if they ever get...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Goals of Share The weekly recap from How To Train Your Doctor Happy Sunday, Reader! This week I ruffled some feathers by making a controversial claim: there's no such thing as false hope! In the first video, I unpack what I really meant by this claim. All hope is real, and all hope serves a purpose. So what we label "false hope" would be more accurately described as a mismatch between what the patient and the medical team believes to be possible. As I expected, folks had a lot to say in...
2 months ago • 2 min read