Dying Well
Dying Well

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.

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

Author: Jan Swanson

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0773527478

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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. 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. bibliography and a unique web resource section with contacts to many organizations working with patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

A Physician's Guide to Life Care Planning
A Physician's Guide to Life Care Planning

Author: Joe G. Conzales

Publisher:

Published: 2017-03-01

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780692864128

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This book is intended to provide physicians a strong theoretical and conceptual framework upon which to rely when life care planning, as well as a common language to help physician life care planners articulate, compartmentalize, and contextualize key life care planning concepts.In addition, the book is intended to serve as an ongoing, subject-specific resource to aid physicians in producing comprehensive, well-formulated life care plans.

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

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.

The Best Care Possible
The Best Care Possible

Author: Ira Byock

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-03-05

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1583335129

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A doctor on the front lines of hospital care illuminates one of the most important and controversial social issues of our time. It is harder to die in this country than ever before. Though the vast majority of Americans would prefer to die at home—which hospice care provides—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 how we die represents a national crisis today. To ensure the best possible elder care, Dr. Byock explains we must not only remake our healthcare system but also move beyond our cultural aversion to thinking about death. The Best Care Possible is a compelling meditation on medicine and ethics told through page-turning life-or-death medical drama. It has the power to lead a new national conversation.

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

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.

Physician-Assisted Death
Physician-Assisted Death

Author: James M. Humber

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1994-02-04

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 1592594484

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Physician-Assisted Death is the eleventh volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews. We, the editors, are pleased with the response to the series over the years and, as a result, are happy to continue into a second decade with the same general purpose and zeal. As in the past, contributors to projected volumes have been asked to summarize the nature of the literature, the prevailing attitudes and arguments, and then to advance the discussion in some way by staking out and arguing forcefully for some basic position on the topic targeted for discussion. For the present volume on Physician-Assisted Death, we felt it wise to enlist the services of a guest editor, Dr. Gregg A. Kasting, a practicing physician with extensive clinical knowledge of the various problems and issues encountered in discussing physician assisted death. Dr. Kasting is also our student and just completing a graduate degree in philosophy with a specialty in biomedical ethics here at Georgia State University. Apart from a keen interest in the topic, Dr. Kasting has published good work in the area and has, in our opinion, done an excellent job in taking on the lion's share of editing this well-balanced and probing set of essays. We hope you will agree that this volume significantly advances the level of discussion on physician-assisted euthanasia. Incidentally, we wish to note that the essays in this volume were all finished and committed to press by January 1993.

Ethics in Palliative Care
Ethics in Palliative Care

Author: Robert C. Macauley

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 0199313946

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This is a comprehensive analysis of ethical topics in palliative care, combining clinical experience and philosophical rigor. A broad array of topics are explored from historical, legal, clinical, and ethical perspectives, offering both the seasoned clinician and interested lay reader a thorough examination of the complex ethical issues facing patients suffering from life-threatening illness.

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Handbook
Hospice and Palliative Medicine Handbook

Author: Susan Bodtke

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781523465880

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This comprehensive pocket-size handbook is the essential reference for clinicians and others serving patients with advanced or life-limiting illness. It offers up-to-date, relevant, and highly practical guidance to expertly meet the challenges of serving these patients and their families. This user-friendly manual emphasizes the importance of honoring patients' wishes throughout their medical journey while meeting their whole-person, often complex needs-from symptom management to attending to spiritual and emotional suffering-and always acknowledges the context of patients' lives, including the needs of loved ones supporting them. The layout makes finding information quick and easy, with alphabetically organized chapter headings and a detailed index. Organ-system-based chapters offer disease-specific, goals-of-care discussion guidance and reviews of etiology, signs and symptoms, assessment, and management-including standard treatment as well as palliative options. Other chapters cover communication with patients and families, consultation with colleagues, and code status discussions, along with valuable subjects such as withdrawing life support, ethics, spirituality, physician-assisted death, and palliative options of last resort. Readers will find practical management strategies for symptoms such as pain, nausea, dyspnea, and delirium. In addition, chapters on opioid use and dosing, and pharmacology of commonly used palliative medications, make this guide an invaluable resource.

Approaching Death
Approaching Death

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."