Patients at the end of life
Reserve judgement: aligning with patients at the end of life – Ashley Shreves
It can be particularly challenging to care for dying patients who insist that they are not and request intensive, seemingly futile treatments.
Physicians often feel disconnected from such patients.
For many, there is the belief that we are different from these patients, more able to accept our own mortality, less likely to desire high intensity, high technology treatments at the EOL.
The literature on physician utilisation of resources at the EOL paints a different picture.
We are reminded how vulnerable we all are to the forces that drive patients towards aggressive treatment at the EOL and in that recognition of our shared humanity, better able to align with our patients.
Dr. Ashley Shreves earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Chemistry from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. She went on to receive a doctor of Medicine degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine located in New Orleans, LA.
Dr. Shreves completed a Residency in Emergency Medicine with St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. She then completed a Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Most recently, she has spent her time practicing emergency medicine and has held the position of Associate Program Director for the Emergency Medicine residency program at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital. Dr. Shreves is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
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Oliver Flower, staff specialist in Intensive Care Medicine at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney | NeuroResus |
This is a difficult topic, mostly b/c of the little training we get during residency.
Thank you Dr Shreves.