Let’s talk about dying
This TEDx Newy talk by Australian intensivist Dr Peter Saul is essential viewing for LITFLers.
Saul talks about death and dying from the Australian intensive care perspective. He highlights the crisis mounting as a a result of our ‘head in the sand’ cultural view of death. He shows that how we die is changing… and the modern ways aren’t good. Most intensivists agree, the last thing they want is to die in ICU.
What is the way forward?
We need to talk about dying.
“You matter because you are, and you matter to the last moment of your life” — Dame Cicely Saunders, Founder of modern hospice
“Death is not the enemy but occasionally needs help with timing.” — Peter Safar’s 20th Law for the Navigation of Life
Here is Peter Saul’s bio from TED:
Dr. Peter Saul is a Senior Intensive Care specialist in the adult and paediatric ICU at John Hunter Hospital, and Director of Intensive Care at Newcastle Private Hospital in Australia. After spending time as the Head of Discipline for Medical Ethics at Newcastle University, he is now a leading adviser to the State and Federal health departments.
Further reading
- Peter Saul. We need to talk of death in our perfect health storm. Sydney Morning Herald.
- Ken Morris. Why doctors die differently. Wall Street Journal
- It’s OK to Die (website by a US emergency physician that helps educate prepare people for death)
- LITFL links: — Fear and loathing in ER and ICU— A Philosophical Death— Letting Go— Choosing Life or Death
Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives.
After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education.
He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE. He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference.
His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.
On Twitter, he is @precordialthump.
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