RWL Newsletter #4
Happy Friday! Thanks for subscribing to the Read, Watch, Listen newsletter.
This week’s focus is on death and dying. I know, just in time for the weekend. But you can’t work in healthcare and not think about that topic. There is a grace in it, and part of our job as health leaders is to ensure that the people entrusted to our care are treated with dignity. This week's suggestions look at how we can help people at the end.
Read
What: From the WP, “Dying is hard. Death doulas want to help make it easier.”
Why: My father volunteered as the medical director for Home Healthcare Hospice and Community Services for many years as part of his mission as a Catholic physician. I used to see him head off into the woods of rural New Hampshire with his black bag to check on patients on the weekends like a character out of some 19th century novel, except he was driving a pick-up rather than a buggy. As a former hospital administrator, I have seen my fair share of patients who passed while I was on duty over night, escorting their bodies to the morgue, but I’ve never sat with someone who was actively dying. As an economist, I read this article and thought about specialization, but also how utility maximization does not always mean more money. As the great economist Adam Smith said, “Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely; or to be that thing which is the natural and proper object of love.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dying-is-hard-death-doulas-want-to-help-make-it-easier/2016/07/22/53d80f5c-24f7-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html
Watch
What: Dr. BJ Miller “What Really Matters at the End of Life”
Why: Really, most TED Talks are self-recommending. But Miller's personal journey is fascinating. He runs an organization called The Zen Hospice Project, which he talks about in the video. You can read about him here.
https://www.ted.com/talks/bj_miller_what_really_matters_at_the_end_of_life
Listen
What: Health Leader Forge interview with the Rev. Frank Macht, Director of Chaplaincy, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Why: On the theme of death and dying, Frank and I had a great conversation about what it is like to be a hospital chaplain at one of the country’s top teaching hospitals. Frank’s story is really interesting as he traveled from Germany to San Francisco and all over the United States learning his trade, which is to journey with people who are in crisis. One of my favorite interviews.
http://healthleaderforge.blogspot.com/2016/06/rev-frank-macht-director-of-chaplaincy.html
OK – those are my suggestions for this week. If you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here:https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
I' d love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, or you can tweet to me at @bonicatalent .
Thanks for reading and see you next week!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
Twitter: @bonicatalent
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau