Extreme measures : finding a better path to the end of life
"An ICU and Palliative Care specialist featured in the Netflix documentary Extremis offers a framework for a better way to exit life that will change our medical culture at the deepest level In medical school, no one teaches you how to let a patient die. Jessica Zitter became a doctor because she wanted to be a hero. She elected to specialize in critical care--to become an ICU physician--and imagined herself swooping in to rescue patients from the brink of death. Butthen duringher first codeshe found herself cracking the ribs of a patient so old and frail it was unimaginable he would ever come back to life. She began to question her choice. Extreme Measures charts Zitter's journey from wanting to be one kind of hero to becoming another--a doctor who prioritizes the patient's values and preferences in an environment where the default choice is the extremeuse of technology. In our current medical culture, the old and the ill are put on what she terms the End-of-Life Conveyor belt. They are intubated, catheterized, and even shelved away in care facilities to suffer their final days alone, confused, and often in pain. In her work Zitter has learned what patients fear more than death itself : the prospect of dying badly. She builds bridges between patients and caregivers, formulates plans to allay patients' pain and anxiety, and enlists the support of loved ones so that life can end well, even beautifully. Filled with rich patient stories that make a compelling medical narrative, Extreme Measures enlarges the national conversation as it thoughtfully and compassionately examines an experience that defines being human."-- Provided by publisher.
Alone in the trenches
The end-of-life conveyor belt
Abandoned in a sea of options
The illusion collusion
Where we come from
Who we are
The personal toll
Sharing the journey.
The end-of-life conveyor belt
Abandoned in a sea of options
The illusion collusion
Where we come from
Who we are
The personal toll
Sharing the journey.
Item details
- ISBN: 1101982551 (print)
- ISBN: 9781101982556 (print)
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Physical Description:
xiv, 338 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
print - Publisher: New York : Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, [2017]
Contents / Notes
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 312-324) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Alone in the trenches The end-of-life conveyor belt Abandoned in a sea of options The illusion collusion Where we come from Who we are The personal toll Sharing the journey. |
Find similar items by subject
Subject: | Terminal care Terminally ill Care |
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- 1 out of 2 copies are currently available at PINES.
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Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | |
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Athens Regional Library System: Athens-Clarke County Library |
NONFIC 616.029 ZITTER (
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31001003193456 | NONFICTION | Checked out | |
Sara Hightower Regional Library: Rome-Floyd County Library |
616.029 ZITTER (
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31047002921348 | NONFIC | Available |