Palliative Care Perspectives

by James L. Hallenbeck

Overview

Drawing from his extensive clinical experience and many years of teaching, Dr. Hallenbeck has written a guide to palliative care for clinicians. Topics addressed range from an overview of death and dying to specific approaches to symptom management. As an introduction to both the art and science of palliative care, this book reflects the perspectives of one physician who has dedicated his career to this rapidly evolving field. the book links real stories of illness with practical advice, thereby delineating clinical practice in a way that reflects the daily concerns of clinicians.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199883165
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/03/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Dr. James L. Hallenbeck is an Associate Professor of Medicine Emeritus at Stanford University in the Department of Medicine. For over 30 years, he worked at the affiliated VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. He is a nationally recognized pioneer in hospice and palliative medicine. His academic work has focused on medical education in palliative care, system change, and intercultural communication. He has also done work on burnout in healthcare, co-authoring a curriculum on burnout and compassion cultivation through the Compassion Institute.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

About This Book xvii

1 Chronic Illness, Death, and Dying in Modern Times 1

2 Dying Trajectories and Prognostication 17

3 Symptom Management-Overview 35

4 Pain Management 41

5 Non-Pain Symptoms 77

6 Special Therapeutic Issues: Hydration, Nutrition, and Antibiotics in End-of-Life Care 115

7 Psychosocial and Spiritual Aspects of Care 124

8 Communication 155

9 Improving the System and Making a Difference 200

10 Palliative Care Consults 210

11 Burnout 227

12 The Last 48 Hours 239

Afterword 253

References 255

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

"Although brief in length, this compassionate guide to core topics in palliative care presents an abundance of useful material that will be appreciated by both physicians and non-physicians...Written with the finely tuned phrasing of a poet who can capture the most complicated and multilayered concepts in the briefest of sentences...'There is a time in this process when words do no justice, I think of this as the "sacred silence." This silence opens a space in which the living join the dead, together in the mystery of life and death, becoming and unbecoming.'(p.186)"—Elizabeth Balsam Hart, M.D., Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency Journal of Palliative Medicine

From the Publisher