Thursday Jun 13, 2024

Ep. 10 - Lessons in Compassion and Communication from a Paediatric Palliative Care Physician

We talk to pediatric palliative care physician Dr Jared Rubenstein all about how we deal with death as physicians, how we can exercise more compassion and self-compassion in difficult moments, and what we can do to become better communicators.

Topics we discuss:

Communicating the difficult parts of life and medicine effectively and prompting important discussions
Jared’s experience of personal tragedies and illness and the effect this had on his work
Mental health awareness campaigns and advocacy in healthcare
The importance of asking colleagues about their well-being genuinely and being prepared to offer support.
How to communicate the realities of what is happening to someone who is sick
The value of processing clinical cases, especially challenging ones, with colleagues and how this can be done effectively
Jared’s project called Discrimination 911, which focuses on addressing racism and discrimination, using communication skills that are widely practiced in palliative care specialties
Personal examples of staying healthy, protecting our mental health and continuing to grow
The need for inclusive and diverse work cultures in healthcare