This is an encore for a previous episode of Critical Matters. One in five US residents receives ICU care at the end of life. In this episode, we discuss different aspects of end of life care in the ICU. Our guest is Dr. BJ Miller, a physician, author, and speaker. He is a practicing hospice and palliative medicine physician and is best known for his 2015 TED Talk, "What Really Matters at the End of Life." BJ has been on the teaching faculty at UCSF School of Medicine since 2007. He is a powerful advocate for the role of our senses, community, and presence in delivering palliative care and for ushering in a new perspective on living with death.

Additional Resources:

What really matters at the end of life, BJ Miller presented at TED 2015: https://bit.ly/3EcOslB

Clinician-Family Communication About Patients' Values and Preferences in Intensive Care Units.

Scheunemann LP et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019: https://bit.ly/3jzNqqD

A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death. BJ Miller and Shoshana Berger: https://amzn.to/3rpl6LM

Vital Talk courses, a set of online and in person courses designed to equip clinicians with the tools to have difficult conversations with patients and families: https://www.vitaltalk.org/courses/

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Man’s Search for Meaning. Viktor Frankl: https://amzn.to/37l3Mk9

Mortally Wounded: Stories of Soul Pain, Death and Healing. Michael Kearney: https://amzn.to/3xsyAKI

Bering Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Atul Gawande: https://amzn.to/3Jz3OlG

The Denial of Death. Ernest Becker: https://amzn.to/3vfQ22e