A few weeks ago, we had our lecture and discussion in our clinical skills class about death and dying. Last year I wrote about it, so I didn't think I'd write anymore about it this year. Truthfully, I was a little let down by the discussion my facilitators facilitated this year around the topic and so I wasn't sure that anything I wrote would be productive.
However, yesterday I read this incredible post by NPR on palliative care and I can't just not write or talk about it. We talk about providing "safe passage" to our patients when they near the end of their lives. Dying is not something we like imagining for ourselves or for our loved ones, but it is an inevitability for all of us. So that's where palliative care comes in. The goal is to allow the patient/loved one to continue doing the things that they love doing for as long as possible. Oh and a happy bonus is that it actually costs the country fewer healthcare dollars than to use extreme Western medicine measures until a person dies.
Well anyway, I don't have much time to write more about what I think, so I'll leave it open to what y'all think. Discuss!
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