Medical Director of Pediatric Palliative Care service and attending physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. She is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
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"We should talk." Advance Care Planning in Primary Care Pediatrics.
Palliative care gave us a language to talk to the medical specialists.
Palliative care helps reframe interventions like feeding tubes.
Palliative care fills a huge hole that comes from having a medically complex kid.
Family tributes to Dr. Patricia O'Malley, 2019 Ilene Beal Courageous Provider Award Recipient
Palliative Care Helps with Difficult Decisions
Decision-Making: We created a space where we examined what the Next Steps are.
For each intervention, we asked, “Is this going to benefit his quality of life or our family’s quality of life?”
Re feeding tubes: It's about asking the right questions.
Medical Order forms: Do Not Resuscitate, Allow Natural Death
The last 24 hours: We were not ready for it. “Wait a minute, we’re off script.”
I did go through a brief period after where I wondered if I’d make the right decision.