What to do when facing a serious illness: 3 sets of questions to ask your health care team
Receiving a diagnosis of a serious illness can be overwhelming. Often people don’t know what the journey will look like. However, there are things you can do to help you communicate with your healthcare team. For example, you and those closest to you can ask key questions to make sure you understand your illness.
1. What does it mean to have this serious illness?
2. What can I expect now and in the future?
3. How can I prepare for what might come next?
For more information:
On Serious Illness and Palliative Care in Canada: canada.ca/palliative-care
Waiting Room Revolution for information and resources to help patients and families who are facing serious illness (English only): waitingroomrevolution.com
Source: @waitingroomrev
Teaching about the importance of empathy
To learn more about how Dr. Barbara Tatham used her own illness to teach others about the importance of empathy, please read "White Coat to Blue Gown".
"She laid herself bare for everyone to see just how hard it can be to be a patient, and in doing so, made all of us want to do better.... Barb’s honesty about her poor prognosis was painful to hear but she had clearly confronted her own humanity and mortality in a way that few of us ever will.” Source: e-Dialogue College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting - Winter 2022 Newsletter
I am honoured to share my winter 2022 newsletter with free resources for individuals and families of all ages facing a complex illness, following diagnosis through to bereavement.
I am also grateful to also share teaching experiences including: undergraduate and graduate Social Work Education; undergraduate interdisciplinary education; and Interprofessional Education for healthcare providers and volunteers exploring informed conversations, honouring person and family-centred care, demystifying grief, and advocating for high-quality palliative care.
#BustingTheMyths about Hospice Palliative Care
It’s Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada.
The campaign (May 5th – 11th) this year focuses on #BustingTheMyths about Hospice Palliative Care
This year, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) designed a “Busting the Myths” campaign as a response to the need to educate Canadians including caregivers, physicians and all healthcare providers, citizens and political leaders around common myths about hospice palliative care.
The #BustingTheMyths campaign aims to empower Canadians through education by identifying and clarifying misperceptions about Hospice Palliative Care in Canada.
Working together to educate one another is a vital step in the pursuit of excellent Hospice PalliativeCare.
Source: CHPCA Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
