What can we learn about palliative care from Indian physicians?
Early on in my career I called an Indian internist in the middle of the night to admit a patient to him.
The patient was an 88-year-old female with advanced dementia, a terminal brain disease. She had aspiration pneumonia, which is often the final common pathway of this illness. She was in respiratory failure, in septic shock and was a “full code.”
I can still recall our 4 a.m. conversation:
“Hi, Dr. M this is Monica Murphy in the ER. I have an 88-year-old female with advanced dementia who has pneumonia and is septic. I intubated her; she’s got a central line with antibiotics and pressors hanging, so we need to admit her to the intensive care unit.”
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Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Monica Williams-Murphy, MD Tags: Physician Palliative care Source Type: blogs
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