Description
'In Search of Dignity' is a collection of candid and insightful publications from one of the world's leading palliative care researchers. It follows Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov's decades-long career, beginning as a young psychiatrist from the University of Manitoba to his experience at the prestigious Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre. Shaped by patient interaction, his deeply human journey formed the basis of a novel program of research and clinical innovations that have helped to shape the field of palliative medicine and person-centered care worldwide.Dr. Chochinov's research and reflections explore issues that strike at the heart of what it means to be human, vulnerable, and mortal. The chapters reveal the story behind the story of each published paper or speech, the wisdom gained from patients nearing death, and their relevance today. Topics include maintaining self-identity during illness, understanding depression, the impact of illness on the will to live, and how affirmation shapes dignity. Engaging and empathetic, Dr. Chochinov pays homage to individuals who inspired his research. He reveals their wisdom in a kind, insightful, and sometimes humorous style that is easily readable for anyone interested in the psychological and spiritual dimensions of end-of-life care, especially medical students, clinicians, nurses, researchers, or those caring for loved ones.
Table of Contents
IntroductionSECTION 1. EARLY BEGINNINGS1. The Culture of Research in Palliative Care: You Probably Think This Song Is About You2. The Five Research Câs3. Humility and the Practice of Medicine4. Thinking Outside the Box: Depression, Hope, and Meaning at the End of LifeSECTION 2. DIGNITY ... AND MORE DIGNITY5. Dignity and the Eye of the Beholder6. Dignity. Dignity? Dignity!7. Dignity, Memory, and Final Wishes of Dying Children8. Death, Dying, and Dignity in the Time of the COVID-19 PandemicSECTION 3. PERSONHOOD AND ATTENDING TO SUFFERING9. Why is Being a Patient a Difficult Pill to Swallow?10. Michael J. Fox Gives Patients Hope There May Be a Place Illness Doesn't Touch11. Depression Is a Liar12. The Platinum Rule: A New Standard for Person-Centered Care13. Seeing Ellen and the Platinum Rule14. Healthcare Provider as Witness15. Dying Well: Why We All Need to Have End-of-Life Conversations16. In Search of a Good Death17. How People with Advanced Cancer Can Find Meaning Toward the End of Life: An Expert Perspective18. Health Care, Health Caring, and the Culture of Medicine19. Intensive Caring: Reminding Patients They Matter20. Intensive Caring: Reminding Families They Matter21. Fractured Personhood, Suicide, and Lessons from Those Nearing Death22. The Secret Is Out: Patients Are People with Feelings That Matter23. Death, Time, and the Theory of Relativity24. Vicarious Grief and Response to Global DisastersSECTION 4. REFLECTIONS ON HASTENING DEATH25. In Praise of Wisdom: A Morality Tale26. Secobarbital in Seattle: Why Lose Sleep?27. Canada Failing on Palliative Care28. Medical Assistance in Dying: Data and Casting Assertions Aside29. Protecting, Caring for the Mentally Ill30. Intensive, Compassionate CaringâNot Medical Assistance in DyingâIs Most Effective Way to Address Mental Illness31. Is Medical Assistance in Dying Part of Palliative Care?SECTION 5. PERSONAL REFLECTIONS32. Cruising for a Bruising33. Reflections on Losing a Friend34. Barneyâs Version: Observations from the Edge35. Acceptance Speech for Outstanding Achievement in Research Award from the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance36. Address Given to Student Forum, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame37. Address to the Incoming Medical Students, Class of 2028 White Coat CeremonyIndex
