In this World Shared Practice Forum Podcast, co-authors Dr. Barry Markovitz and Ms. Ann Schrooten discuss their book, Shared Struggles: Stories from Parents and Pediatricians Caring for Children with Serious Illness. They share personal experiences and narratives from families and clinicians to explore the unique partnership between families and healthcare providers caring for children with serious illness and medical complexity. Lastly, they highlight the importance of communication, empathy, trust, and humility in building meaningful relationships that support children and their families throughout their care journey.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Describe the role of parent-physician partnerships in caring for children with serious illness and medical complexity
- Recognize strategies for effective communication with children who are nonverbal and the importance of incorporating parents' expertise in clinical decision-making
- Discuss how empathy, compassion, and active listening contribute to trust and help build therapeutic relationships between healthcare providers and families
- Examine the value of shared decision-making in delivering family-centered pediatric and palliative care

AUTHORS
Barry Markovitz, MD, MPH
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital

Ann F. Schrooten, JD
Attorney
Fitzgibbons Law Offices, P.L.C

Jeffrey Burns, MD, MPH
Emeritus Chief 
Division of Critical Care Medicine
Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine 
Boston Children's Hospital
Professor of Anesthesia
Harvard Medical School

DATE
Initial publication date: September 22, 2026.

REFERENCES
- Schrooten A, Markovitz BP. Just Because I Can't Talk Doesn't Mean I Have Nothing to Say. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2025;26(6):e860-e861.
- Schrooten AF, Markovitz BP, eds. Shared Struggles: Stories from Parents and Pediatricians Caring for Children with Serious Illnesses. Copernicus Books; 2021.

TRANSCRIPT
https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/as/8w9gnk94ctgww7bq3b3qszs7/20260917_WSP_Markovitz_and_Schrooten_transcript

Please visit: www.openpediatrics.org

OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu

CITATION
Markovitz BP, Schrooten A, O’Hara J, Burns JP. Pediatric Medical Complexity: Shared Insights. 09/2026. OPENPediatrics. Online Podcast. https://soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/pediatric-medical-complexity-shared-insights-by-b-markovitz-and-a-schrooten-openpediatrics

In this World Shared Practice Forum Podcast, co-authors Dr. Barry Markovitz and Ms. Ann Schrooten discuss their book, Shared Struggles: Stories from Parents and Pediatricians Caring for Children with Serious Illness. They share personal experiences and narratives from families and clinicians to explore the unique partnership between families and healthcare providers caring for children with serious illness and medical complexity. Lastly, they highlight the importance of communication, empathy, trust, and humility in building meaningful relationships that support children and their families throughout their care journey. LEARNING OBJECTIVES - Describe the role of parent-physician partnerships in caring for children with serious illness and medical complexity - Recognize strategies for effective communication with children who are nonverbal and the importance of incorporating parents' expertise in clinical decision-making - Discuss how empathy, compassion, and active listening contribute to trust and help build therapeutic relationships between healthcare providers and families - Examine the value of shared decision-making in delivering family-centered pediatric and palliative care AUTHORS Barry Markovitz, MD, MPH Professor of Pediatrics University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital Ann F. Schrooten, JD Attorney Fitzgibbons Law Offices, P.L.C Jeffrey Burns, MD, MPH Emeritus Chief Division of Critical Care Medicine Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Boston Children's Hospital Professor of Anesthesia Harvard Medical School DATE Initial publication date: September 22, 2026. REFERENCES - Schrooten A, Markovitz BP. Just Because I Can't Talk Doesn't Mean I Have Nothing to Say. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2025;26(6):e860-e861. - Schrooten AF, Markovitz BP, eds. Shared Struggles: Stories from Parents and Pediatricians Caring for Children with Serious Illnesses. Copernicus Books; 2021. TRANSCRIPT https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/as/8w9gnk94ctgww7bq3b3qszs7/20260917_WSP_Markovitz_and_Schrooten_transcript Please visit: www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu CITATION Markovitz BP, Schrooten A, O’Hara J, Burns JP. Pediatric Medical Complexity: Shared Insights. 09/2026. OPENPediatrics. Online Podcast. https://soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/pediatric-medical-complexity-shared-insights-by-b-markovitz-and-a-schrooten-openpediatrics

Pediatric Medical Complexity: Shared Insights by B. Markovitz & A. Schrooten | OPENPediatrics‌

Dr. Roubing Wang reviews the signs and treatment of asthma exacerbation, and explains what to do if your patient progresses to acute respiratory failure. 

Initial publication: November 11, 2020. 

Please visit: www.openpediatrics.org
 
OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open access-and thus at no expense to the user.

For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu

Please note: OPENPediatrics does not support nor control any related videos in the sidebar, these are placed by Youtube. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Dr. Roubing Wang reviews the signs and treatment of asthma exacerbation, and explains what to do if your patient progresses to acute respiratory failure. Initial publication: November 11, 2020. Please visit: www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children's Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open access-and thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu Please note: OPENPediatrics does not support nor control any related videos in the sidebar, these are placed by Youtube. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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