Palliative care specialists, doctors who manage patients’ last months, study how to deliver a grim prognosis, and they do it again and again. Full Story »
Posted by Oliver Jones - via New York Times (Most Emailed)
Terrific piece showing the details of end-of-life care, and the hard work of compassion everybody goes through -- health professionals, families, patients. It's worth reading this three times -- once as if you're a family member, again as if you're the doctor, and again as if you're the patient. Only one critique: the piece has nothing to say about the spiritual dimension of end-of-life care. Every accredited hospital and every hospice offers a chaplaincy service; these folks are always available and often have a role.
