Physician's Guide to End-of-life Care

Physician's Guide to End-of-life Care PDF

Author: American College of Physicians--American Society of Internal Medicine. End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel

Publisher: ACP Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1930513283

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Identifies clinical, ethical, and public policy challenges in end-of- life care and offers recommendations on how to better address these problems. Part I focuses on building relationships among doctors, patients, and families, cultural differences in attitudes towards palliative care, and what to do when the patient cannot speak for himself. Part II presents practical approaches to common problems, illustrated with clinical cases in management of pain, depression, and delirium. Part III deals with legal, financial, and quality issues. Snyder teaches bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics; Quill teaches in the Program for Biopsychosocial Studies at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. c. Book News Inc.

A Physician's Guide to Coping with Death and Dying

A Physician's Guide to Coping with Death and Dying PDF

Author: Jan Swanson

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 9780773528321

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Education about death and dying has been almost ignored in medical schools. Recently, however, it has become increasingly obvious that the preferences of dying patients are being ignored, leaving many patients to die lonely, scared, and in pain. There is a growing realization that physicians can help dying patients achieve a more peaceful death and increased recognition that good end-of-life care is not just the province of specialized hospice physicians or nurses. In A Physician's Guide to Coping with Death and Dying Jan Swanson and Alan Cooper, a physician and a clinical psychologist with many years of experience, offer insights to help medical students, residents, physicians, nurses, and others become more aware of the different stages in the dying process and learn how to communicate more effectively with patients and their families. They also discuss the ways physicians and other caregivers can learn to reduce their own stress levels and avoid the risk of burnout, allowing them to achieve balance in their lives and be more effective professionally. The authors use case examples and thought-provoking exercises to provide a personal learning experience. A Physician's Guide to Coping with Death and Dying includes an extensive bibliography and a unique web resource section with contacts to many organizations working with patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

Dying Well

Dying Well PDF

Author: Ira Byock

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 1998-03-01

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 110150028X

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From Ira Byock, prominent palliative care physician and expert in end of life decisions, a lesson in Dying Well. Nobody should have to die in pain. Nobody should have to die alone. This is Ira Byock's dream, and he is dedicating his life to making it come true. Dying Well brings us to the homes and bedsides of families with whom Dr. Byock has worked, telling stories of love and reconciliation in the face of tragedy, pain, medical drama, and conflict. Through the true stories of patients, he shows us that a lot of important emotional work can be accomplished in the final months, weeks, and even days of life. It is a companion for families, showing them how to deal with doctors, how to talk to loved ones—and how to make the end of life as meaningful and enriching as the beginning. Ira Byock is also the author of The Best Care Possible: A Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life.

End-of-Life-Care: A Practical Guide, Second Edition

End-of-Life-Care: A Practical Guide, Second Edition PDF

Author: Barry M. Kinzbrunner

Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional

Published: 2011-01-07

Total Pages: 881

ISBN-13: 0071766618

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The most thorough text available on providing patients and families with quality end-of-life care "The study/learning questions at the end of each chapter make this book an excellent resource for both faculty who wish to test knowledge, and individual learners who wish to assess their own learning....The book is well written and easy to read. 3 Stars."--Doody's Review Service End of Life Care: A Practical Guide offers solution-oriented coverage of the real-world issues and challenges that arise daily for clinicians caring for those with life-limiting illnesses and conditions. End of Life Care: A Practical Guide includes specific clinical guidance for pain management and other common end of life symptoms. The second edition has been made even more essential with the addition of chapter-ending Q&A for self assessment and board review, new coverage of multicultural medicine, an increased number of algorithms to assist decision making on complicated clinical, legal, and ethical issues. Six sections walk you through the complexities of caring for patients who are nearing the end of life: Preparing Patients for End of Life Management of Symptoms Diagnostic and Invasive Interventions Ethical Dilemmas Special Populations Diversity No other text better assists physicians and other clinicians in providing patients near the end of life with support, guidance, and hope in the face of “hopelessness” than End of Life Care: A Practical Guide.

Courageous Conversations on Dying - the Gift of Palliative Care

Courageous Conversations on Dying - the Gift of Palliative Care PDF

Author: Shahid Aziz

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2018-01-31

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781983403286

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Dying - which we all inevitably must do - can be appreciably better for each of us if we approach end of life conversations early, while we still have the capacity to make our own decisions. This book can help us all with this. In addition, Courageous Conversations on Dying guides physicians in their role of supporting patients and families through decision-making for end of life, concentrating on patients' goals. Whether we are physicians, patients, family members, or caring individuals who want the best possible end of life experience for ourselves and each other, we must acquire the skills for loving, fruitful conversations. In this book, you'll learn how to prepare for these conversations, including what kind of setting, what words to use, how to be a good listener, how to empathize, how to help in decision-making, how to properly document end of life wishes, and more, along with many case studies to illustrate the points.

Approaching Death

Approaching Death PDF

Author: Committee on Care at the End of Life

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-10-30

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 0309518253

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When the end of life makes its inevitable appearance, people should be able to expect reliable, humane, and effective caregiving. Yet too many dying people suffer unnecessarily. While an "overtreated" dying is feared, untreated pain or emotional abandonment are equally frightening. Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care. This volume offers a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: Determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family. Establishing clinical and personal goals. Matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances. Approaching Death considers the dying experience in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings and the role of interdisciplinary teams and managed care. It offers perspectives on quality measurement and improvement, the role of practice guidelines, cost concerns, and legal issues such as assisted suicide. The book proposes how health professionals can become better prepared to care well for those who are dying and to understand that these are not patients for whom "nothing can be done."

The Best Care Possible

The Best Care Possible PDF

Author: Ira Byock

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1583334599

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A palliative care doctor on the front lines of hospital care illuminates one of the most important and controversial ethical issues of our time on his quest to transform care through the end of life. It is harder to die in this country than ever before. Statistics show that the vast majority of Americans would prefer to die at home, yet many of us spend our last days fearful and in pain in a healthcare system ruled by high-tech procedures and a philosophy to "fight disease and illness at all cost." Dr. Ira Byock, one of the foremost palliative-care physicians in the country, argues that end-of-life care is among the biggest national crises facing us today. In addressing the crisis, politics has trumped reason. Dr. Byock explains that to ensure the best possible care for those we love-and eventually ourselves- we must not only remake our healthcare system, we must also move past our cultural aversion to talking about death and acknowledge the fact of mortality once and for all. Dr. Byock describes what palliative care really is, and-with a doctor's compassion and insight-puts a human face on the issues by telling richly moving, heart-wrenching, and uplifting stories of real people during the most difficult moments in their lives. Byock takes us inside his busy, cutting-edge academic medical center to show what the best care at the end of life can look like and how doctors and nurses can profoundly shape the way families experience loss. Like books by Atul Gawande and Jerome Groopman, The Best Care Possible is a compelling meditation on medicine and ethics told through page-turning, life or death medical drama. It is passionate and timely, and it has the power to lead a new kind of national conversation.

Dying in America

Dying in America PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-03-19

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 0309303133

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For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. Unfortunately, the experience of dying in the United States is often characterized by fragmented care, inadequate treatment of distressing symptoms, frequent transitions among care settings, and enormous care responsibilities for families. According to this report, the current health care system of rendering more intensive services than are necessary and desired by patients, and the lack of coordination among programs increases risks to patients and creates avoidable burdens on them and their families. Dying in America is a study of the current state of health care for persons of all ages who are nearing the end of life. Death is not a strictly medical event. Ideally, health care for those nearing the end of life harmonizes with social, psychological, and spiritual support. All people with advanced illnesses who may be approaching the end of life are entitled to access to high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based care, consistent with their wishes. Dying in America evaluates strategies to integrate care into a person- and family-centered, team-based framework, and makes recommendations to create a system that coordinates care and supports and respects the choices of patients and their families. The findings and recommendations of this report will address the needs of patients and their families and assist policy makers, clinicians and their educational and credentialing bodies, leaders of health care delivery and financing organizations, researchers, public and private funders, religious and community leaders, advocates of better care, journalists, and the public to provide the best care possible for people nearing the end of life.

A Physician's Guide to Pain and Symptom Management in Cancer Patients

A Physician's Guide to Pain and Symptom Management in Cancer Patients PDF

Author: Janet Abrahm

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2005-05-20

Total Pages: 524

ISBN-13: 9780801881008

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Janet L. Abrahm argues that all causes of suffering experienced by people with cancer, be they physical, psychological, social, or spiritual, should be treated at all stages: at diagnosis, during curative therapy, in the event that cancer recurs, and during the final months. In the second edition of this symptom-oriented guide, she provides primary care physicians, advanced practice nurses, internists and oncologists with detailed information and advice for alleviating the stress and pain of patients and family members alike. The new edition includes the latest information on patient and family communication and counseling, on medical, surgical, and complementary and alternative treatments for symptoms caused by cancer and cancer treatments, and on caring for patients in the last days and their bereaved families. Updated case histories, medication tables, Practice Points, and bibliographies provide clinicians with the information they need to treat their cancer patients effectively and compassionately.