The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Living ethically in the face of death is a major challenge for the ill person, the family, and the hospice staff. Beyond the recognized need for ethical decision-making regarding medical principles, there are decisions about character for all involved: "What kind of person will I be?" "What kind of family will we be?" What kind of caregiver will I be?" "What kind of community will we be? This article is a discussion of virtues that are appropriate in hospice staff and volunteers: compassion/empathy, faithfulness, justice/advocacy and practical wisdom. The author calls for a wider sharing of their knowledge and experience.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · May 2002
You need not make the journey alone: overcoming impediments to providing palliative care in a public urban teaching hospital.
The majority of dying patients continue to receive care in acute, tertiary settings. This has generated the development of hospital-based palliative care (HBPC). The Symptom Management and Palliative Care Program (SMPCP) at LAC+USC Medical Center provides HBPC. ⋯ Results indicated that the SMPCP achieved a high rate of quality end-point attainment when impediments were not present. The most significant impediments resulted from behaviors by primary physicians. The SMPCP's ability to overcome barrier behaviors improved the rate of end-point attainment, confirming the importance of palliative care at the end of life.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · May 2002
Teaching end-of-life issues: current status in United Kingdom and United States medical schools.
Our objective was to determine how broadly end-of-life issues are represented in the undergraduate medical school curricula of the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Mailed surveys yielded response rates of 100 percent in the UK and 92 percent in the US. ⋯ Hospice involvement was found in 96 percent of UK medical schools but in only 50 percent of US schools. Overall, the UK appears to provide more exposure to end-of-life issues in medical schools, although the US appears to be moving in that direction.