The Surgical Palliative Care Podcast

#021 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Rebecca Aslakson, an anesthesiologist - triple-board certified in anesthesiology, critical care medicine and hospice and palliative medicine - and a well known researcher who has devoted her career to improving the delivery of effective and equitable palliative care, particularly to perioperative and critically ill populations. Rebecca is an Associate Professor at Stanford University with appointments in both the Department of Primary Care & Population Health in the Palliative Care Section and the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine where she serves as Division Chief of Critical Care Anesthesia.
Rebecca discusses how her early work in HIV paved the way for her career as both a researcher and as a palliative care physician. She shares the story of David, one of her very first patients, who inspired her interest in palliative medicine. She talks about the importance of honoring the emotive (rather than the cognitive) experiences of our patients as well as the importance of creating a space for patients and families to discuss their spiritual/religious beliefs, whatever they may be.
For young physicians, Rebecca's career illustrates the importance of mentorship throughout one's career (and proves that you do NOT have to be mentored by people in your own field). She also reflects upon the importance of knowing the culture of your medical community and being mindful of that culture when trying to conduct research or introducing an intervention.
Beyond being a brilliant researcher, Rebecca is one of the most authentic and heart-centered human beings. Get ready for both your emotive and cognitive sides to be inspired!
Read more about Rebecca, including links to her publications, here.
Read more about anesthesia and palliative medicine in the ASA Monitor here.
Read more about the Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial of Perioperative Palliative Care Surrounding Cancer Surgery for Patients and Their Family Members (PERIOP-PC) here.
To learn more about the surgical palliative care community, visit us on twitter @surgpallcare
To learn more about host Red Hoffman, visit her website www.redhoffmanmd.com.

#017 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman and cohost Dr. Pringl Miller as they interview Dr. Geoff Dunn, the father of the Surgical Palliative Care Movement. Geoff is a fourth generation surgeon, a second generation hospice medical director (his father was also both a surgeon and a hospice medical director!) and an artist. Along with Dr. Bob Milch, Geoff is responsible for starting the integration of the concept of palliative medicine into the work of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the largest surgical organization in the country. As he shares in this episode, at the ACS Clinical Congress in 1997, he was invited by Dr. Tom Krizek to address a large gathering of surgeons during a symposium focused on physician-assisted suicide. As he approached the microphone, Tom whispered to him, "You have ten minutes to change surgery... Don't mess it up!" Geoff took this to heart and over the next two decades he worked tirelessly to integrate palliative medicine into surgical practice through chairing the ACS Committee on Surgical Palliative Care, writing countless articles, editing numerous books, speaking at numerous conferences, and - perhaps most importantly - never preaching! As a lover of history, Geoff has tirelessly documented the history of the Surgical Palliative Care movement, most recently in a chapter of the Surgical Palliative Care textbook (link below). As a lover of art and literature, Geoff has often utilized in his quest to better explain palliative medicine to surgeons, most memorably by comparing the Family Conference to a surgical procedure in which we "Prepare, Do and Close." Despite all of his achievements, Geoff remains humble, heart-centered and human. Listen and enjoy learning the history of the Surgical Palliative Care Movement!
To read more by Geoff Dunn:
Surgical Palliative Care- Along with Anne Mosenthal, Geoff served as co-editor and also authored a chapter highlighting how surgeons have been involved in palliation since the beginning of the profession.
Surgical Clinics of North America- Geoff edited the 2011 edition focused on Surgical Palliative Care. The 2019 edition, edited by Pringl Miller, can be found here.
Surgical Palliative Care: A Resident's Guide- Geoff served as one of the co-editors of this extremely useful (and free) guide to providing palliative care to surgical patients.
In this article, Geoff discusses the history of surgical palliative care and the American College of Surgeons.
To learn more about the surgical palliative care community, visit us on twitter @surgpallcare.

#009 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Ira Byock, nationally known author and speaker and the founder and chief medical officer of the Institute for Human Caring at Providence St. Joseph in Southern California. Ira served as the president of the American Association of Hospice and Palliative Medicine as well as the Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Promoting Excellence in End of Life Care, under which the Surgeons Palliative Care task force (now the Committee on Surgical Palliative Care) was created within the American College of Surgeons. For those interested in the history of surgical palliative care, Ira is also known as the man who introduced surgeons Dr. Robert Milch to Dr. Geoffrey Dunn (both men went on to become leaders in the field of surgical palliative care). Ira shares that seeing how poorly patients at the end of life were treated in his training hospital led him to develop a hospice program while still a resident physician. He discusses that illness is fundamentally a personal issue (rather than a medical issue) and that by acknowledging this, surgeons can do their part in making certain that patients get the best care possible. He is thoughtful, inspiring, generous with both his time and his experience, and a pure joy to talk to!
Learn more about Ira here.
Ira's books include:
The Best Care Possible: A Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life
Dying Well: Peace and Possibilities at the End of Life
The Four Things that Matter Most
Learn more about the Surgeons Palliative Care Workgroup here (includes PDFs of over two dozen articles written about surgical palliative care and published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.)
To learn more about the surgical palliative care community, visit us on twitter @surgpallcare

#023 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews pharmacist Dr. Mary Lynn McPherson, Professor and Executive Director of the Advanced Post-Graduate Education in Palliative Care in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland, Program Director of the Online Master of Science and Graduate Certificates in Palliative Care (also at University of Maryland), host of the Palliative Care Chat Podcast and author of the very well-known book Demystifying Opioid Conversion Calculations: A Guide for Effective Dosing. Lynn is a well-known speaker and a respected educator and was named as a 2018 Visionary in Hospice and Palliative Medicine by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Lynn discusses the role of the pharmacist on the interdisciplinary palliative care team, including the very important role of de-prescribing medications. She then offers a step-wise approach to the treatment of common symptoms such as nausea, constipation
(spoiler alert- we are using way too much zofran and docusate!), delirium and pain. Lastly, she answers some of Red's burning questions about tylenol, toradol, transdermal delivery systems and buprenorphine. Lynn is consistently one of the most most sought-after speakers at the AAHPM Annual Assembly and it is incredible to have the opportunity to learn from her!
To find a copy of Demystifying Opioid Conversion Calculations click here.
To listen to the Palliative Care Chat Podcast click here.
To learn more about the University of Maryland Online Master of Science and Graduate Certificates in Palliative Care click here.
To learn more about the surgical palliative care community, visit us on twitter @surgpallcare
To learn more about host Red Hoffman, visit her website www.redhoffmanmd.com.

#026 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she once again has the privilege of interviewing Dr. Balfour Mount, the founder of Palliative Medicine. Bal recently released his 500-page memoir entitled Ten Thousand Crossroads: The Path as I Remember It and he generously returns to the show to talk about his book. He discusses his friendships with both Dame Cicely Saunders and Elizabeth Kubler Ross and shares lessons he learned from both women. He also reflects upon the many lessons he learned from his patients and how his own journey with multiple cancers influenced his practice of medicine throughout his career.
Bal is a cultural icon and it is a pure pleasure to sit back and listen to him reflect upon his life and his career. I cannot recommend his book highly enough; besides stories about Dame Cicely Saunders and Elizabeth Kubler Ross, he also includes memories about meeting Viktor Frankl and the Dalai Lama, as well as a funny phone call with Mother Teresa.
To purchase Ten Thousand Crossroads: The Path as I Remember It, go here.
To learn more about the recently launched Surgical Palliative Care Society, visit the website at www.spcsociety.org or twitter @spcsociety.
To learn more about the surgical palliative care community, visit twitter @surgpallcare
To learn more about host Red Hoffman, visit her website www.redhoffmanmd.com or twitter @redmdnd.