Doctors had cited a Texas law that prevents them from
withdrawing or withholding “life-sustaining treatment” from a pregnant patient.
What did you think about Dr. B's visit with us? What was most interesting? Most shocking?
What do you think about these cases in the news?
I think that it was great that he took time out of his day to speak with us. The most interesting part was when he described what his job was. It is very easy for family members to get confused on what is going on, and that Dr. B comes and explains everything to them. The most shocking part is how many doctors work on just on patient. The cases in the news are pretty big, but they are not the only ones in the same situation, but either way it is still bad to hear what is going on to the individuals.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how he took time out of his day to come talk with us. I thought it was interesting when he described what exactly a palliative care doctor was. I have never had any experience with hospice in my life. For a doctor experiences those things on a daily basis I believe is outlook on how he views things was spectacular. I agree with Melissa that I have never heard about a patient developing PTSD from their injury and or illness for that matter. First time for everything I suppose. I honestly thought that most doctors after going through as much schooling as they do would switch specialties to a different field. Most doctors seem like they don't care and are only in it for the money , but Dr.B was sincere and concerned in the way he talked about his patients. Lastly I thought it was interesting how he talked about when making his pain management care plan he and his team take into account the medications from all the other doctors and help develop the best course of action.
DeleteI enjoyed Dr. B's visit yesterday, particularly his approach to palliative care. I don't have any experience with palliative care and my only hospice experience was with both my grandparents and father in law. I think he had a very good outlook on what he can do for patients in educating not only the patient but the family. I have noticed in the last two years or so a lot of hospitals, to include UC, are gearing up towards moving to family centered care instead of patient only. The family is allowed at bedside during cardiac arrests and are directly involved in all aspects of care. I particularly don't like it because frankly, the wailing and crying distracts me from my job, but I understand theoretically how it is supposed to work and the type of impact it has on the family. One this that grabbed my attention was when Dr B mentioned that patients can suffer from PTSD from their injury or illness. That is something that never crossed my mind but makes complete sense to me. I don't think I have ever heard a doctor address this before.
ReplyDeleteI wrote the same thing about PTSD occuring as a result extreme medical circumstances. It's not a situation where a thought PTSD would develop, but it clearly makes sense. It's a little disheartening that someone who goes through so much and survives then has to deal with its after affects for life possibly.
DeleteI'm in the Neuro intensive care unit with my mom. I hope if she comes out of this someone will talk to her about PTSD. Because of Dr. B I now know to look for that.
DeleteI thought that Dr.B's visit was very interesting, I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard a physician was speaking to the class. Part of me expected him to be a bit defensive about the care of patients in the hospital but he surprisingly agreed that much of the care that occurs in the hospital is futile. I thought his particular field was very interesting, it was one I had never heard of before. It surprised me this was a field in the first place because it seems like this is something all medical professionals should have in mind, the comfort of their patients, but it is nice to know there is a special field emerging. The most shocking part of Dr.B's talk was how far this speciality has come in the past twenty or so years. For example, with the story about his father in his final days, it is shocking it has made so much progress in what is a small amount of time in the medical field. I thought that cases in the news were interesting because it shows how different families can have such different views despite the conditions of their family members being so similar.
ReplyDeleteI agree about how surprising it was when he talked about the problems with end of life healthcare. Like he said, i always had the perception that doctors just want to fix. I'm in agreement that this field is arising and putting so much emphasis on the patient's quality of life rather than quantity. I think almost all would agree that you would much rather take a shorter, happier last few days rather than an extended, painful last couple of days and his field can do that for you.
DeleteI thought Dr. B's visit on Wednesday was very informative. He is not one to "sugarcoat" the facts, but at the same time he is very empathetic and seems to genuinely care for his patients. I believe this is the perfect combination of traits to be a great doctor, or any member of the medical field. I found the struggle between doctors to be very interesting. Many people don't realize that multiple doctors will be present and often disagreeing when their loved one is sick and possibly even dying. Arguments between the health care professionals can stem down to the family who has no idea what should be done. That's why I respect Dr. B's area of medicine. They are realistic, informative, and calming in a time of chaos. Furthermore, they can help make the last few days with a loved one much more comforting rather than hectic.
ReplyDeleteWhen he talked about how patients who can suffer PTSD after extreme medical circumstances, this surprised me. I had never thought of PTSD occurring as a result of health care, but it makes sense. Hopefully, precautions can be taken in the future to eliminate this.
I'm glad that the good doctor could join us. He gave me an interesting perspective in the life of someone who saves lives regularly. He's like Spider-man without the cops threatening to arrest him.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was great to hear what Dr. B had to say, I was most interested by the way he talked about the care of his patients. It seemed to me that because of his experience he was able to have much more practical outlook on the decisions that his patients and their family were having to make. He seemed to remain emotionally detached from the situation and at the same time he was still empathetic towards the family of his patient. Which I am sure is a desired characteristic in any medical professional. As some other people mentioned already I was most shocked to find that patients often suffer from PTSD, but after contemplating about the intense stress and sometimes complicated medical procedures that they have to go through it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteJacob, I thought the same thing about what he said about patients and PTSD, I never thought about it until then, but as you said, it makes sense.
DeleteI did not know that there was a whole profession dedicated to the pain comfort of a patient. I thought their case doctor was the one that prescribed all pain and or comfort medicine. His visit was very insightful for the profession that he is in. I thought the most interesting thing that he talked about would be the post traumatic stress disorder that people can go through after they have been in the the ICU.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that either Chris. I just assumed that it was up to the nurses and the main doctor to decide what pain relievers to use.
DeleteUnfortunately I was unable to attend class last Wednesday and missed the speaker, however, I will still comment on the cases in the news. I believe Jahi's mother does not correctly understand that her daughter is brain dead. I believe her mother believes she is in a permanent vegetative state where there is a possibility for her to "come back" or "wake up". In the case of Ms. Munoz, I understand the decision of the medical team to keep her on a ventilator to sustain the life of her unborn child. I understand it is difficult for her parents to want to keep their brain dead daughter on a ventilator when there is no possibility of her recovery, however, because of the decision of the medical team and the technology available, her unborn child will have a chance at life.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Dr. B's visit on Wednesday. I have been in the position with trying to make a dear family member comfortable and not in any pain. I really new where he was coming from when he was talking about what he does and how it is important. Other doctors do not really seem to "care" about if the patient is comfortable, only if the patient is "improving". What was most shocking to me, was when Dr. B discussed that people in ICU go through PTSD afterwards. It never occurred to me that that could happen. As for the cases in the news, I can see how the California family would want to keep their daughter on the machines in the hopes that something would change. She was/is young and it is something that you would not expect to happen. As for the Texas family, I can understand the mother did not want to be kept on machines to live, but I do not understand why the family would not want to keep her "alive" until the baby was able to be born. That confuses me.
ReplyDeleteI wondered that about the Texas family as well, why wouldn't they keep her "alive" until the baby was able to be born, but I read somewhere, and I can't find the article now, that this mother had been without oxygen for about an hour and that would have affected the fetus.
DeleteHaving Dr. B come in to speak to us was very interesting, informative, and comforting for me, given the circumstances my family and I were experiencing last week with my grandmother. Her situation was nothing like anything he spoke about, but when he explained to us how removing the feeding tube from someone isn't starving someone to death, and the process of how the brain works in relation to our want to eat and ability to be able to produce saliva, as well as chew and swallow, it made me understand things that much more for my situation. As Ms Sherron had mentioned in class to everyone, it was in a way comforting for me to hear him speak of this, as my grandmother only five days prior to her passing stopped eating, drinking, taking her pills, and communicating with anyone. I knew last weekend that it was only a matter of days before she'd pass on, it was just when was it going to happen. I can't help but think of the timing of her passing, and how it occurred while I was in this class, and while Dr. B's presentation came to an end. Just weird.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I found it interesting to hear exactly what it is palliative care is, and how the team looks at everything going on with a patient rather than just each doctor worrying about the one issue it is that they specialize in.
I'm sure almost everyone has heard the results of the Texas case, but I thought that I'd share this anyway.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ctvnews.ca/world/pregnant-brain-dead-texas-woman-finally-taken-off-life-support-family-1.1656505
Hearing from Dr.B was both informative and very interesting. I had never heard of palliative care before he came to speech to use. I found it very interesting that he is able to give people as peaceful way to deal with death. I also found it shocking about how he mentioned how doctors from different fields will argue on what they believe they should do for their patient. In regards to the case in Texas I believe the family should be able to decide the fate of their daughter and her fetus. The fetus has so many issues that a healthy life is more than likely out of the question therefore they should be able to decide if they want to take on that burden. The case in California is a tough decision but since she had no chance of waking up the state was right to pull the life support.
ReplyDeleteI thought Doctor B visiting with us was very informative and interesting. I liked how he was very compassionate about his work and I could tell he liked what he did. I think the most interesting thing about his talk was how other doctors do not always agree with what he thinks is best for his patients. I think it was also interesting that when patients family do not understand he sits down with them and explains what is going on. I think the most shocking thing was that in the past few years palliative care has become such a large part of the death and dying process.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most important discussions to come from the doctor's visit is that of quality vs. quantity of life. Primarily, at which point the need for one will exceed the other. In a society that has an emphasis on longevity and remaining youthful for as long a time as possible, quantity of life is definitely a major value everyone desires. However, it brings up the question of whether a life is worth living if it has no substantive qualities we associate as positives of living life. This also brings up what life should be maintained for. Should life be sustained for life's sake? Or should life be sustained primarily for particular benefits that come with life, which if absent negate the need for life? And how do we objectively determine values which historically have always been considered subjectively valued?
ReplyDeleteReliance on subjective valuation works well enough with conscious patients, but those in vegetative states or comas are unable to give their subjective values, leaving families and doctors to make decisions on their part, a frightening prospect for something based on individual values.
Doctor B's visit really made me think about my perspective about life. I always have that the feeding tubes were a great thing because the patients did not eat or could not eat, like in dementia patients. But when he said that it was because they didn't want to eat because they just weren't hungry and that is what happens when they know they are about to die. The visit was very informative and eye opening to see it from a doctor that sees it so much.
ReplyDeleteDoctor B's visit gave me some very interesting thoughts about life and what it really should mean to myself. When I think of patients that are dying, I used to feel as if the doctor's job was to keep them alive as long as possible. I never thought of all the pains and the results afterwards when considering this opinion. For example, feeding tubes have always ben a good thing in my eyes, but when I heard how feeding tubes are sometimes not even what the patient wants because they don't want food, it made me rethink everything. I really appreciated Doctor B coming to visit and I had a great experience learning about everything he had to say.
ReplyDeleteFor me, personally, I applaud everything that Dr. B had to say. It is absolutely refreshing to hear someone just call it for what it is. Too often, patients don't have someone actually fighting for their best interests; patients' families tend to draw the attention off the actual patient. As for the articles, it may sound harsh, but as a society, we need to learn how to let go. Take the time to process and grieve. But, when the lights go out, they're out forever. Thankfully the TX girl was allowed to complete the transition towards peace. But what the CA family is doing is assault of a corpse. It is sad and it is unexplainable. But that little girl is gone for whatever reason. Let her complete her journey.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Dr.B's talk with us. Like Chris I did not know that their was a doctor specifically who's job was to just control the pain and comfort of the patient. He gave me a different outlook on how to look at a situation where comfort might be the best thing. I also thought that his talk on post traumatic stress disorder in the ICU was very interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting story similar to what happened in Texas, however, the woman was farther along and the fetus was viable: http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/health/canada-brain-dead-pregnant-woman/
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that many people think of palliative care as "giving up" on a patient and just resigning to let them die. However, I think that the way Doctor B. explained his field gave a radically different view of his profession. Many of the patients that he treats will die no matter how much medical treatment they receive, so instead of continual treatment and pain, palliative care focuses on ensuring the patient and the family are as comfortable (mentally as well as physically) as possible during the whole process. The most interesting part of the visit is when Dr B. said that he had no desire to get involved with the treatment of children. Even after all his years in his job, he is still empathetic and has not lost compassion for his patients, which speaks volumes towards his ability to perform his job well.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed listening to Dr B talk.It gives a sense of hope that there is a growing field of doctors that put the patients wants in front of everything else. Like he stated when he was talking, most doctors study so much in school that this is the problem and this is how you go about fixing it. Unfortunately sometimes that what a patient is to a doctor, a problem that has to be solved. Its great that there is this new field where we have a doctor that can present everything to the family in a way that is understandable to them. Together, that doctor, the patient, and the family are able to make a reasonable decision for that patient.
ReplyDelete