Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Palliative care is a team sport

Jordan Grumet, MD
Physician
February 19, 2017
358 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I waited intently as the board members rearranged in their seats and look up expectantly. Silence. I wasn’t going to let it be that easy. I repeated myself and paused again. This time a few tentative answers flutter up to the podium.

Hospice? Comfort care? End of life? Giving up?

Now this is something I could work with. I cleared my throat and smile broadly.

Palliative care is a philosophy.

I can’t help but launch into a series of idioms. I talk of the difference between the forest and the trees. I invoke Osler’s famous quote about how the great (palliative) physician treats the patient and not the disease. We talk of the sanctity of quality versus the expediency of quantity. I can see heads shaking in agreement. The ideas are starting to sink in. I mention patient-centeredness, and I can feel the room stir. I talk of dignity. The goal is to face illness with the same dignity that we attempt to face health. The participants inhale and exhale with each word.

Palliative care is a skill set.

Palliative care is a consultative service just as a cardiology or nephrology. Board certified physicians in hospice and palliative care treat pain, nausea, anxiety and a host of other symptoms. We also are skilled in advanced disease planning, counseling on end of life and not so end-of-life care. We help guide the decisions about code status, hospitalization, timing and duration of care.

Palliative care is a team sport.

It takes a whole group: nurses, social workers, chaplains, therapists, volunteers and nursing assistants. Relieving pain and suffering is complex and multifaceted. It’s not just a physician’s domain. Each skill set brings its own version of comfort to the suffering. But mistake me not, we all speak the same language. It is neither medicine nor religion. It’s compassion.

Palliative care is not hospice.

In fact, hospice is a small part of palliative care. If palliative care were a bus, hospice would be a few rows of seats in the front or back. It is concomitant care of chronically ill patients coordinated with other specialties. One can continue any treatment they wish — chemotherapy, surgery, hospitalization. And it is not a substitute for hospice. Hospice is a Medicare benefit appropriate for up to the last six months of life for those who wish to discontinue curative treatments. It brings with it a host of services not covered by general palliative care.

Palliative care is important.

It is something you, your family and your institution need to know.

Jordan Grumet is an internal medicine physician who blogs at In My Humble Opinion. Watch his talk at dotMED 2013, Caring 2.0: Social Media and the Rise Of The Empathic Physician. He is the author of Five Moments: Short Works of Fiction and I Am Your Doctor: and This Is My Humble Opinion.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Telemedicine encounters inherently sacrifice quality

February 19, 2017 Kevin 9
…
Next

One day. Two lessons learned.

February 19, 2017 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Palliative Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Telemedicine encounters inherently sacrifice quality
Next Post >
One day. Two lessons learned.

More by Jordan Grumet, MD

  • A hospice doctor’s advice on getting your finances in order

    Jordan Grumet, MD
  • A story of persistence in the face of death

    Jordan Grumet, MD
  • When a physician gets yelled at

    Jordan Grumet, MD

Related Posts

  • Why health care replaced physician care

    Michael Weiss, MD
  • Patient care is not a spectator sport

    Jim Sholler
  • A letter to a cancer patient in palliative care

    Alison Vasa
  • How social media can help or hurt your health care career

    Health eCareers
  • The dark horse of the care team: a parent’s perspective on hospital chaplains

    Laura Spiegel
  • More physician responsibility for patient care

    Michael R. McGuire

More in Physician

  • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Discover the power of patience

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Physician return-to-work policies

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • How my patients’ Zoom backgrounds made me a better doctor

    Joseph Barrera, MD
  • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

    Anonymous
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Novavax's Updated COVID Shot Authorized by FDA
  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • FDA Advisors to Consider DFMO Maintenance for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Kids
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D

Meeting Coverage

  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D
  • Low Relapse Rates With Twice-Yearly Schizophrenia Treatment
  • Menopause Can Negatively Affect Women's Careers
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...