A subitanea morte, libera nos, Domine … “from a death that is sudden and unprepared for, deliver us, o Lord.” To be taken away suddenly, without being able to make oneself ready, without having had time to prepare – this is the supreme danger from which man wants to be saved. He wants to be […]
Imperative 6 To be joyful. Laughter and joy can be a more effective medicine than anything we hope to produce in a laboratory. The joy of medicine was given to me by my patients. I will always remember the day I sat in the bedroom of a hospice patient who was surrounded by his immediate
Imperative 7 To be knowledgeable. There is so much I don’t know that if I had a lick of sense, I would use my medical diploma to line my kitchen cabinets. The single greatest sin I can commit as a physician is to know not and know not that I know not. To be knowledgeable,
to be knowledgeable … Read More »
… “On television, death is presented as a thrilling spectacle tailor-made for alleviating the general boredom of life. In the last analysis, of course, the covert aim of this reduction of death to the status of an object is just the same as with the bourgeois taboo on the subject. Death is to be deprived
death trivialized … Read More »
Imperative 8 To be courageous. Courage is contagious. The defining moments of history have been immortalized because common men and women inspired others with their courage and together they all accomplished the seemingly impossible. No one and no thing must ever cause us to shirk our duty to a patient who relies on us to
to be courageous … Read More »
… don’t push (“righting reflex”) but reflect … Pollack et. al. discuss how to talk with patients and families when they are resistant to discussing the future or are ambivalent and unable to make a decision. Criteria to know if we have been successful … Letting patients talk as much as clinicians; Keeping question-asking to
in settings of ambivalence and resistance … Read More »
“Liberalism and illuminism want to insinuate us in a world without fear; they promise to do away with every type of fear. They wish to eliminate every dependency on another and its intimate tension. This search for security is founded on a total auto-affirmation of the self which denies the risk of going out of
a world without fear … ? Read More »
Imperative 9 To be strong. Strength has a resolute spirit that stands in spite of overwhelming obstacles. We can become a source of strength to our patients and their families. They can draw strength from us. If we are willing to hold their disappointments, their fears, their guilt, not succumbing to desperation, even when that
to be strong … to be weak … Read More »
Imperative 11 To be authentically human in our encounters with patients and families. To be effective, I must be willing and able to throw off the protection of the white coat and be fully human at the bedside. So often I hear professionals say that they just wouldn’t know what to say to a patient
embracing our own humanity … Read More »
Imperative 12 To recognize and believe in the Supremacy of Spirit. Our personal religious convictions–or lack thereof–must never cloud our awe at the great miracle of the spiritual realities that come breaking forth as patients approach death. We must be prepared to help patients and families address the great spiritual questions of life: Who am
witnesses and partners … Read More »
