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People who live rural, and particularly those outside of town limits, have a unique relationship to place. For many their roots in a particular place run deep, across more than one generation. The people who live on the land in this way have…

A person with a serious illness can tell you that the fragmentation of the healthcare system is a barrier in many practical ways. Every specialist asks you to fill out their history form, and then does not seem to read it. Every specialty as well…

At a time when civic responsibility is a controversial issue, how do we collectively look out for those who are alone and living with serious illness?…

Think about one of the biggest losses you have suffered.

Risk factors for burnout can be sorted into three groups:
•    Risk factors related to the organizational culture and practices.
•    Risk factors from exposure to suffering.
•    Risk factors related to personality and…

Helping professions are by nature, asymmetrical where the clinical team does the giving, ideally without expectation of any particular response from the patient and family. Christina Maslach , one of the original researchers on burnout observed…

The three W’s are a wish, a worry and a wonder. This skill can be combined with other communication skills, such as asking permission, expressing alignment, and reassuring that care will not stop…

Covid-19 has irretrievably changed our world. One of the harshest consequences has been the way patients are separated from other people.  Electronic devices can offer a possible and sometimes powerful way for a patient to connect with others…

There is no question that all kinds of people become ill, and some are more pleasant to care for than others. Yet when we use labels like “difficult” or “manipulative” or “demanding” it may weaken our ability to be a healer. We may…

In a Harvard Business Review article entitled, Managing the Hopes of Seriously Ill Patients, Brad Stuart describes a toolkit for managing hope.
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