Palliative Care

Comfort Always: My First Experience with Life at the End and the Care that Accompanies It

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Written by Alison Mercier ’18
One foot after another Harriet jerked her walker forward, apathetically moving towards her destination: The doctor’s office. At 79 years-old, her skin draped over her bones, and her muscles heaved as she struggled to breathe with each step. After smoking about two packs per day for 40 years, it was a miracle Harriet was alive to experience the crisp air on this early fall day.

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Fourth Year Reflections – When Medicine and Life Collide

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Written by Kelly Gardner ’14
With graduation quickly approaching, I can’t believe my four years here at the College of Medicine have gone by so quickly. There have been many wonderful and many challenging experiences. As I reflect back on my most meaningful memories, I realize it was preparing me for when my own personal life and medical life would collide. Being a medical student made me better prepared for what I faced as a daughter. And what I endured as a daughter will make me a better physician.

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“The Greatest Privilege:” Spending Time with a Dying Patient

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Written by Sarah Gardner ’15
I went to see him every single morning, and pretty much just sat next to his bed and let him talk. Asking him the usual review of systems questions, outside of whether he was comfortable or not, seemed a waste of time. He was struggling with trying to make a decision: Should I go through chemotherapy? Should I get radiation? Should I do nothing? I dutifully listened to him, confident only in the fact that I had none of the answers.

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