Month: September 2024

EOLPodcast

Ep. 473 Death’s Apprentice: Planning for Life, Death and After with Christa Ovenell

kwyattmd

Learn how a funeral director who is also an end-of-life doula merges “head and heart” in her work to help people prepare for the end of life.

My guest Christa Ovenell is a licensed funeral director, an end-of-life doula, and the founder of Death’s Apprentice Education & Planning. She shares how she helps people think about, talk about, and prepare for the end of life and what comes after. Her work highlights the importance of planning how to live fully during our last days so that we don’t waste any of our precious time, and how to navigate all the transitions of life as we age. Learn more at her website:

deathsapprentice.ca

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Why Christa ended up becoming both a funeral director and end-of-life doula
  • When people don’t plan for their funerals and disposition they often end up with expensive options that weren’t really wanted
  • Tips for getting end-of-life planning done while we are still healthy
  • 4 pillars of decision-making
  • How “heart work” is the hard work we need to do
  • How a “pre-need” for funerals can be helpful to families
  • Why decluttering is part of death-preparedness
  • How to navigate life-altering transitions while aging

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu. Also thank you to everyone who has joined the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 472 Creating a Collaborative Movement in Your Community with Michelle Kolling and Nina Guertin

kwyattmd

Learn why you should start a death collaborative in your community and tips for getting started.

My guests this week are members of the Minnesota Death Collaborative and will share how the collaborative was created, including tips for others who might like to start a similar collaborative in their community or state. Michelle Kolling is a hospice volunteer and end-of-life doula who serves as secretary of the collaborative and Nina Guertin is an end-of-life doula, death educator and a co-founder of the original collaborative. They share their personal experiences and the benefits and challenges of collaborating with others. Learn more about each guest and the MN Death Collaborative at the links below:

Michelle Kolling: heldoula.com

Nina Guertin: tendingthespirit.care

MN Death Collaborative: mndeathcollaborative.org

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How the MN Death Collaborative was initially created
  • The benefits of being a member of a collaborative
  • How a collaborative organization offers credibility to those who are creating their own businesses
  • The end of life is a multifactorial experience which demands a team approach
  • How a person-centered approach is “built in” to the mission of the collaborative
  • Types of events sponsored by the collaborative
  • How to sustain a collaborative over time
  • The importance of slowing down and taking smaller steps in the beginning
  • Tips for other groups that want to start a collaborative
  • The infrastructure needed to support such a movement

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu. Also thank you to Anonymous for buying me a cup of coffee and to everyone who has joined the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 471 NEW SERIES – Death & Grief in Pop Culture: “Dear Evan Hansen” with Benjamin Kintisch

kwyattmd

Learn how death and grief are portrayed in pop culture through this new series that analyzes theater, film and music, starting with the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to suicide and grief after suicide so use your own discretion if these are sensitive topics for you. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide and need help call or text the National Suicide Hotline at 988.

My guest Benjamin Kintisch is a cantor, hospice and eldercare chaplain, music teacher, and the creator of Life Review: The Hospice Musical. Ben and I are teaming up for a new series on Death & Grief in Pop Culture to talk about all the interesting ways death shows up in culture, what we might learn about death and grief through the lens of pop culture, and how we can utilize popular references to death and grief to increase death literacy for ourselves and others. This week we are discussing the Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen.” Learn more about Ben’s work at his website:

lifereviewmusical.com

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Death and grief are all around us in popular culture
  • How pop culture can help us increase death literacy for ourselves and in conversations with others
  • Learning how to stay present with the pain and grief of others
  • The power of live theatre to touch our hearts and teach our minds
  • The preponderance of orphans as characters in popular films and stories
  • Death and grief in Life Review: The Hospice Musical
  • The authenticity of grief depicted in Dear Evan Hansen
  • Why this musical is transformative and uplifting at the end

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my latest supporters Cheri and Mark and to Dana Tuttle for buying me 3 coffees! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 470 Transforming the Illness Experience with Hsien Seow PhD and Sammy Winemaker MD

kwyattmd

Learn how a palliative clinician and a researcher are helping to create a social movement for improving the patient and family experience of serious illness.

This week I’m welcoming Drs. Sammy Winemaker and Hsien Seow, creators of The Waiting Room Revolution and authors of the book Hope for the Best Plan for the Rest. Sammy is a palliative care physician and an associate clinical professor at McMaster University. Hsien is a professor in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University who publishes health care research focused on improving the patient and family experience for those facing serious illness. Together they co-host The Waiting Room Revolution Podcast to help patients and family members feel hopeful and prepared when facing serious illness. Their book Hope for the Best Plan for the Rest is the featured book for the month of September 2024 in A Year of Reading Dangerously reading group. Learn more about their work and download the discussion guide for the book at the links below:

waitingroomrevolution.com

Get the book here

Discussion Guide

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Why Sammy and Hsien decided to write the book
  • The 7 keys they focus on for navigating serious illness
  • Why patients and their families benefit from “walking the two roads” of hope and preparation
  • How the medical system currently fails to support patients in preparing for the possibility that treatment may not have the desired outcome
  • How our hopes and plans evolve as our illness journey changes
  • A palliative approach to patients and illness helps clinicians in all specialties avoid burnout
  • How seeing the “big picture” journey of an illness can help with decision-making
  • Why caregivers also need preparation at the beginning of an illness journey

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my latest supporters Jenny Gedda, Carolynn Rafa Todd, and Karen Sueanna! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 469 Podcast Playlist: Death Education with Karen Wyatt MD

kwyattmd

Learn about some helpful episodes from the EOLU Archives that can show you how and why to start teaching others about death and dying.

This week I’m sharing another “Podcast Playlist” which is a topic-focused deep dive into the archives of EOLU. I have created several anthologies of episodes that deal with specific subjects to make it easier for you to take advantage of the wealth of information available from previous interviews on the podcast. This playlist centers on Death Education and you’ll learn a lot about why we all need to be death educators in our communities right now, tips for creating our own classes or events, and various resources and trainings that are available to help you start to teach others. You can see the slides for this episode if you watch on YouTube at the link below or you can download a handout of the slides and a list of the presenters. There’s a lot of content here – this playlist should help you choose the episodes you want to listen to!

View slides here

YouTube Channel

Handout of Presenters

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my latest supporters Margie Blanchard and Bonnie! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.