The Complex Ethical and Moral Experience of Left Ventricular Assist Device Deactivation.

The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a fully implantable cardiac replacement device that can complicate the process of dying. We present a case of a patient who attempted to deactivate the LVAD without the support of his medical team. This action was understood as a "suicide attempt" though when the patient was later felt to be dying, LVAD deactivation proceeded without reference to psychiatric illness. To understand this case, we discuss the ethics of LVAD deactivation in the dying process. We then explore the experience of clinicians and the public encountering this unique technology across clinical contexts. We herein present a novel and possibly controversial analysis of the moral complexities of LVAD deactivation and suggest that clinicians be transparent about these complexities with patients and families.

Practicing Serious Illness Conversations in a Pulmonary Medicine Teaching Clinic.

BACKGROUND: Physician trainees in pulmonary medicine are not provided with supervised practice opportunities to gain confidence and skill in having serious illness conversations in the ambulatory setting. OBJECTIVE: We incorporated a palliative medicine attending into an ambulatory pulmonology teaching clinic to provide supervised opportunities for serious illness conversations. METHODS: Trainees in a pulmonary medicine teaching clinic requested supervision from a palliative medicine attending based on a set of evidence-based pulmonary-specific triggers that indicate advanced disease. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine the trainee's perceptions of the educational intervention. RESULTS: The palliative medicine attending supervised 8 trainees in 58 patient encounters. The most common trigger for palliative medicine supervision was answering "no" to the "surprise question." At baseline, all trainees cited lack of time as the primary barrier to having serious illness conversations. Themes emerging from post-intervention semi-structured interviews included trainees learning that (1) patients are grateful to have conversations about the severity of their illness, (2) patients do not have a good sense of their prognosis, and (3) with improved skills, these conversations can be conducted efficiently. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary medicine trainees were provided practice opportunities for having serious illness conversations under the supervision of the palliative medicine attending. These practice opportunities effected trainee perception on important barriers to further practice.

A Survey of Clinicians Who Provide Aid in Dying.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the identity and moral experience of clinicians who provide the option of aid in dying to terminally ill Americans. METHODS: In May 2023 we distributed an email survey to clinicians registered for the American Clinician's Academy on Medical Aid in Dying listserv. RESULTS: Of the 72 clinicians who responded, 90% were of white race, 50% were over 60 years old, and 47% had been in practice for over 20 years. Most clinicians report practicing primary care (39%) or hospice/palliative care (33%); 25% of clinicians had training in palliative medicine. 22% described their practice as a specialized "aid-in-dying practice" and 26% either "rarely" or "never" cared for the terminally ill outside the context of aid in dying. A majority (56%) of clinicians were either affiliated with an independent practice or unaffiliated. Before they began aid-in-dying work, 26% of clinicians reported having felt "somewhat" or "very" morally conflicted; after having written an aid in dying prescription, 96% felt "hardly" or "not at all" conflicted. On average, clinicians felt that aid-in-dying laws balance protection of patients with access; 39% believed that the laws were "somewhat" or "overly" protective. CONCLUSION: Many responding clinicians report caring for patients considering aid in dying in specialized practices or otherwise in unaffiliated or independent practice. Clinicians report that providing aid in dying (and writing an aid-in-dying prescription) resulted in less reported moral conflict toward aid in dying.

Visitation restriction and decision making: Healthcare surrogate experiences.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to discover whether hospital visitation restrictions imposed during COVID, and remaining at some institutions, influenced surrogate decision-making. METHODS: Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of people who served as healthcare surrogates for patients admitted to the intensive care unit with a palliative care consultation in January of 2021 at a large tertiary care hospital. RESULTS: Thirteen healthcare surrogates agreed to be interviewed out of the fifty-six who were identified and invited to participate. The following themes emerged: 1) Decision-making was delayed as surrogates desire to make decisions in conjunction with the patient; 2) visitation restriction disrupted processes of grief and end-of-life rituals; 3) it prevented healing that occurs with closeness to loved ones; 4) visitation permission was poorly communicated and inconsistent; 5) virtual connection was inconsistent and proved ineffective in context; 6) communication was often stressful and confusing. CONCLUSION: From the point of view of healthcare surrogates, visitation restriction disrupted the normal process of decision-making by impeding important healing and grief rituals, and making connection difficult, despite policies and technology that was meant to assist. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Visitation restriction carries risk such as delaying decision-making and the perceived healing benefits of visitation.

A Pilot Study to Understand the Role of Medical Humanities in Medical Education.

Over the past 20 years, the number of colleges offering programs in medical humanities has increased, and through the Medical Humanities Initiative at Georgetown University, this pilot study sought to understand students perceived benefits of a medical humanities curriculum. Based on a qualitative thematic analysis of free-response survey reflections from students enrolled in three unique medical humanities courses, six themes emerged. The themes help capture the role that a medical humanities education can play in shaping future clinicians and demonstrate that these courses not only provided a distinct teaching methodology from the scientific classroom but also appeared to deepen the students' understanding of the humanistic aspects of medicine and its many facets.

Postcardiotomy Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Narrative Review Navigating the Ethical Issues.

Postcardiotomy shock (PCS) is an uncommon and life-threatening surgical complication. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is the first line of mechanical circulatory support for treating PCS when medical therapies are insufficient. Reaching a "therapeutic ceiling" or a "bridge to nowhere" is a common clinical scenario in which medical avenues for recovery have been exhausted. These situations pose emotional and ethical challenges for patients, their surrogates, and clinicians. To shed light on these ethically challenging situations in PCS and potential approaches, the authors conducted a narrative review of the literature. Publications were utilized to describe current trends in the diagnosis and management of the patient with PCS, with particular emphasis on the therapeutic ceiling for life support. Most of the recommendations came from practice parameters or expert opinions to support specific interventions. The authors proposed a stepwise multidisciplinary approach to reduce PCS-associated ethical and emotional challenges. Their proposed algorithm was based on the likelihood of the need for ECMO support based on the mortality risk stratification of cardiac surgery. They suggested focused discussions around the commencement of ECMO or other life-sustaining therapies-ideally preoperatively at the time of consent-through shared decision-making and, subsequently, proactive multidisciplinary education and updates to the surrogate decision-makers relying on realistic prognosis and consideration of the patient wishes during the ECMO run.

Palliative Care Consultation and Effect on Length of Stay in a Tertiary-Level Neurological Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Patients admitted to an acute care setting with a devastating brain injury are at high risk for morbidity and mortality. These patients and their families can benefit from the psychosocial and decision-making support of a palliative care consultation. Objective: We aim to investigate the characteristics and impact of palliative care consultation for patients under the management of neurosurgical and critical care services with a devastating brain injury in a neurological intensive care unit (ICU) at a large tertiary-care hospital. Design: Data were collected by retrospective review of the electronic medical record and metrics collected by the palliative care service. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Linear regression analysis was performed to assess effect of timing of palliative care consultation. Results: Fifty-five patients admitted to the neurological ICU under the management of the neurosurgical service received a palliative care consultation for the following: hemorrhagic stroke (49%), metastatic cancer (22%), and traumatic brain injury (18%). Of these, 73% had at least one neurosurgical intervention. Palliative care was most frequently consulted for assistance in defining a patient's goals of care (88%). When compared with late consultation, early palliative care consultation was significantly associated with shorter mean length of stay (LOS) and positively correlated in linear regression analysis without an effect on mortality. Conclusions: When compared with a late consultation, early palliative care consultation corresponded to shorter LOS without increasing mortality. One reason for this effect may be that palliative care can help to clarify and document goals of care earlier and more concretely.

Practicing Serious Illness Conversations in Graduate Medical Education.

BACKGROUND: Physician trainees are not provided with routine practice opportunities to have a serious illness conversation, which includes a discussion of patient expectations, concerns, and preferences regarding an advancing illness. OBJECTIVE: To test the acceptability of incorporating a serious illness conversation into routine trainee practice. METHODS: Residents in an internal medicine program conducted a serious illness conversation in the ambulatory care setting with the assistance of a conversation guide. Semi-structured interviews determined trainees' perceptions of the educational intervention. Patients were surveyed to understand their experience. RESULTS: Twenty-one trainees had at least one opportunity to practice having a serious illness conversation and completed a majority of the conversation elements. In semi-structured interviews, trainees expressed the belief that the serious illness conversation should be an important component of routine patient care, understood that patients are willing to have these conversations, discovered that patients did not have a clear understanding of their prognosis, and said that time is the main barrier to having these conversations more consistently. Patients found the conversation to be important (92%), reassuring (83%), and of higher quality than the communication of a usual doctor visit (83%). CONCLUSIONS: With preparation, time, and a conversation guide, trainees completed the elements of a serious illness conversation and found it to be an important addition to their routine practice. Patients found the conversation to be important, reassuring, and of better quality than their usual visits.