When someone mentions palliative care or hospice, most people think of death. I have even been affectionately called "Dr. Death". Quite the contrary, hospice and palliative care are all about LIVING. It's about making each day the best it can be. You may be like a lot of people and think that Hospice and Palliative Care are the same thing. Or maybe you have an idea about what hospice is but not a clue as to what palliative care entails. Well, you've come to the right place! In the next few paragraphs, I...

I never dreamed at the beginning of my career that I would end up in Palliative Care and be a Hospice Medical Director. The journey from medical school to where I am now was punctuated by many challenging patient encounters, as well as personal losses, which not only opened my eyes, but also deepened my compassion for those around me. Part of my medical education - like many physicians - was about how to become detached from my patients. This wasn't a particular course or curriculum - it was taught by e...

The DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) discussion strikes fear in the hearts and minds of patients, physicians and nurses. So what does it really mean to be a DNR? Will I still be able to receive treatment if I become a DNR? What exactly will the hospital do or not do if I am a DNR? A DNR order tells medical personnel not to perform CPR. CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) involves anything from mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and external chest compression to electric shock, injection of medications and insertion ...