"Number one, people have priorities in their lives besides just living longer and they matter a great deal. Number two is that the most reliable way to learn what those priorities are is to ask and we don’t ask. The result, that’s number three, is that when you don’t ask, the care and treatment that people get is often increasingly out of alignment with their priorities and what really matters most to them.
There were a few basic questions that came up:
What’s your understanding of where you are with your illness or your health at this time?
What are your fears and worries for the future?
What are your goals and priorities if your health worsens?
What are you willing to go through and what are you not willing to go through in seeking treatment for more possible time?
These are questions that doctors and other clinicians should become comfortable with and better at asking. I’m still learning how to do it well. I’ve asked them poorly and handled them poorly still, and I’m doing better and better. It takes skill and practice. But they’re also the kinds of conversations that families can have about what matters most and what makes life worth living. Those are incredibly important, powerful conversations."
Q&A: Atul Gawande on America’s urgent need to rethink end-of-life care | Dallas Morning News
'via Blog this'
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.