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Perusing ASCO 2017 - AKA Time for Lorazepam
(Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog)
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - June 8, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: ASCO cancer oncology pallonc research research issues rosielle WaPo Source Type: blogs

Persuing ASCO 2017 - AKA Time for Lorazepam
Photo from ASCO Mediakit. © ASCO/Danny Morton 2017TheAnnual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology was last week. It ’s been my observation over the years that much of the best palliative-oncology and supportive-oncology research is presented at ASCO each year, before it’s actually published (if it ever gets published). So I always dig through the palliative/EOL/supportive/psychooncology abstracts each year to see what ' s happening. Below is a gently annotated list of the abstracts that caught my eye the most, for your perusal and edification. Undoubtedly, these are my idiosyncratic choices, ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - June 8, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: ASCO cancer oncology pallonc research research issues rosielle WaPo Source Type: blogs

Stand Up! For Each Other as the Year Marches on
By Vickie LeffStand Up! was 2017 ’s theme for Social Work Month. As many of us know, social workers are excellent advocates; advocacy it is a core skill that is integral to our teaching, profession, and interventions. In celebration of that theme, as March concludes, I want to challenge you to spread that enthusiasm and charter a cross the palliative care universe this year. After all, palliative care is a team sport, defining itself not whole until a physician, nurse and social worker (at a minimum, with ideally many more disciplines involved) are members. This is not a random collection of professionals, but a calculat...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - April 1, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: advocacy interprofessional self-care social work social worker teamwork Vickie Leff Source Type: blogs

Looking Forward to #hpm Chats in 2017
InJuly 2010, Christian and I had a conversation about finding ways to bring people together online to connect, collaborate and learn more about topics in hospice and palliative care. We had seen some fascinating discussions with#hcsm, the health care social media community and decided to launch the#hpm chat as a weekly interdisciplinary discussion of issues in hospice and palliative care. I never imagined how this idea would develop into such a vibrant community where caregivers, doctors, nurses, social workers, volunteers and people with a variety of experiences have joined in to discuss topics on our weekly conversations...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 28, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Source Type: blogs

Book Review: Gratitude by Dr. Oliver Sacks
By Karen B. KaplanReading Dr. Sacks ’ farewell book with its mournful black cover was like going through a typical day on the job as a hospice chaplain. Just like my patients, this famous author, well-known for his medical narratives such asThe Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales lists his regrets, his triumphs, his hopes, and his efforts to make sense of the life that he had led. In a word, this book is about how he dealt with his approaching end. Many of us can relate to his regrets, which included wasting time, being shy, and not traveling more. He also hoped to love and work as long as p...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 20, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: book review gratitude karen Kaplan sachs Source Type: blogs

Why I Became a Certified Hospice and Palliative ICU Nurse
by Lori RuderMarch 19 is Certified Nurses Day, a day set aside to honor nurses who improve patient outcomes through certification in their specialty. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) states: “A registered nurse (RN) license allows nurses to practice. Certification affirms advanced knowledge, skill, and practice to meet the challenges of modern nursing.”As an ICU nurse, I see the challenges of modern nursing as witnessing sicker patients undergoing extreme measures; attempting to extend the length of life but not necessarily the quality of life. ICU nurses have 24/7 intimate contact with their patients. M...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 19, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: credentialing icu nurse nursing ruder The profession Source Type: blogs

Preparing to Show Up: Nature Practices that Serve
This article offers some very basic nature-based practices that we can use on a regular —if not frequent—basis with little preparation in moments in which we find ourselves: depleted, enervated, or in need of clarity. I have been a hospice volunteer for more than sixteen years, while also serving the deep needs of people in transition through my private professional practice. What I’ve learned from both of these endeavors is that showing up to “the other” in an engaged, dynamic manner is not only essential for them; I must show up to myself in such a way, too. We need to maintain a daily connection to fluidity in...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 17, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: hospice intervention Jennifer Wilhoit nature reflect self care Self reflection volunteer Source Type: blogs

On Language: Why We Should Avoid Saying " So Young "
By Amanda HinrichsThere is a brief phrase I hear uttered in the halls of the clinic or the hospital, a phrase I have said myself, and it ’s a phrase that concerns me. This phrase, “so young,” is uttered by new and experienced clinicians, often when talking about patients who are seen as being too young for the illness(es) they have. This phrase conveys objectivity and societal statistics, but is also laden with personal judgeme nt, empathy, and sadness.As I enter my career in adult palliative medicine, I have been thinking more and more about the importance of language and the way we, the medical community, convey co...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 15, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: amanda hinrichs bias label language lifespan palliative young Source Type: blogs

Bringing Humanity Back to Medicine: A Book Review of " Attending " by Ronald Epstein
by Lyle FettigWhen debriefing after a difficult communication encounter led by a fellow or resident, I ’ll often start by asking the trainee, “how do you think it went?” There are times when I thought the encounter went very well, yet the trainee leaves the room with a worried look. Perhaps the trainee clearly explained the medical facts, demonstrated ample empathy, and carefully talked about t he next steps, so I’ll be a bit surprised when the trainee says, “It went horrible.” I’ll ask why, and I’ll get a bemused look in response. “Because I made the patient cry,” the trainee might say. Usually, when t...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - March 1, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: book depression fettig humanity media mindfulness review The profession Source Type: blogs

Extremis Documentary Falls Short at Oscars, Wins Over Palliative Care
by Christian SinclairLast night at the Oscars, there sure was a lot of excitement for many of my friends and colleagues, and I ' m not just talking about the surprise ending with La La Land winning Best Picture, then losing it in a tragic mistake of envelopes, to another well-deserving film Moonlight. That is because many of my friends and colleagues are strong advocates and wonderful clinicians who are vocal about excellent care at the end of life.The filmExtremis, which was released in April 2016 at the Tribeca Film Festival, was nominated for An Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, but up against top compet...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - February 27, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: extremis film sinclair zitter Source Type: blogs

SWHPN 2017 Conference Reflection
By Abigail LatimerAlthough I have three years of hospice clinical social work, I am only six months into my career with inpatient palliative care. I learned aboutSWHPN (Social Work Hospice& Palliative Care Network) and quickly applied and received the scholarship to attend the conference. It was beyond any previously held expectation and I left in awe of the work that is being done from around the country and world. As I sat next to great leaders like Dr. Grace Christ, Terri Altilio, LCSW and Shirley Otis-Green, LCSW, OSW-C (to name a few) I felt humble and as Susan Blacker, MSW, RSW and Susan Hedlund, LCSW, OSW-C...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - February 26, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Source Type: blogs

Social Media to Enhance the 2017 Annual Assembly
by Christian SinclairThe Annual Assembly of AAHPM and HPNA is right around the corner and if you are going to Phoenix, or staying home to keep things running smoothly, social media can help make your conference experience be transformative. Since 2009, the Assembly has been making use of Twitter to provide additional insight, commentary and sources for the multiple sessions each day. Now things are expanding to dedicated conference apps, Facebook and Instagram. And for the first year ever we have Twitter contests.The official hashtag of the conference:#hpm17 (works on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), use it in every twe...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - February 20, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: facebook sinclair twitter Source Type: blogs

Warming Hearts, Cloaking Grief
By Lori RuderHe moves over and she snuggles in close to her fianc é. She pulls their blanket over them. A special blanket made just for this moment. “I love you” she murmurs, soaking in his face and his warmth. “Goodnight lovebirds,” his mother teases as she turns out the lights.This moment is both tender and tragic: tender because they are demonstrating their love for each other, tragic because this is happening in the ICU. Her fianc é is on life support and he is dying. He moved over because I moved him over to make room for her in his narrow hospital bed. I repositioned his ventilator tubing and central l...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - February 15, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: blanket cancer comfort icu lori ruder Source Type: blogs

11th Annual Pallimed and GeriPal #hpmParty at #hpm17
Come one, come all to the 11th annual Pallimed / GeriPal party during the Annual Assembly of AAHPM and HPNA! And right after SWHPN ' s conference too!In keeping with tradition, we will host it on the Thursday of the Assembly (Feb 23rd). We will start atLustreat around 8 PM and move on from there toHanny ' s at 10pm (and then who knows what). Like always though, these are rough estimates of time, so if you want to know the details, follow the hashtag#HPMparty on Twitter.Also, feel free to invite and bring anyone, as this is no exclusive crowd.Ways to follow: #HPMparty twitter feedPallimed Twitter fe...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - February 15, 2017 Category: Palliative Care Tags: geripal meta party Source Type: blogs