Decision Making

Honestly, you really do not need to know the definition of the healthcare phrase "goals of care" in order to advocate for the best...

Most people do not want to go to the hospital. There is a lot of stopping and going in the emergency room, where you might have to wait...

Sometimes it seems that we medicalize unpleasant or undesirable aspects of being a human being. One that comes to mind is grief. ...

(Many thanks to Erin Nielsen, LCSW, of The Holding Group and Magdalena Belgie, LMSW, for their expert input with this post!) "The...

The particular nouns, adjectives, and verbs we choose to describe ourselves and our lives can alter how we see ourselves and our...

Before I started working as a palliative care physician (read Post 1: What Exactly Does a Palliative Care Specialist Do?), I worked as a...

"She didn't use the Life Alert button when she fell! What am I going to do if this happens again? I've used up all my days staying with...

"It looks like I'll be the one making decisions. The rest of my siblings work, are busy with kids, or live on the other side of the...

I have seen my healthcare colleagues become so focused on treating a patient, they forget that the patient is a person with a family. I...

"I don't want to be on dialysis, and I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't start dialysis. What should I do?" Mr. K and his wife are...

"My grandpa can tell me what he wants to eat for breakfast. I wouldn't trust him to buy a house on his own." Many times we have a sense...