Tag: death education

EOLPodcast

Ep. 543 A Hospice Musical to Teach About Life’s Grief and Joy with Benjamin Kintisch

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Learn how to experience and support a fantastic musical comedy about hospice care, grief, and finding meaning in life.

My return guest Benjamin Kintisch is a trained chaplain, music teacher, and Cantor in the Jewish synagogue. He is the creator, lyricist and playwright of “Life Review: The Hospice Musical,” a musical comedy that focuses on the lessons a young rabbi learns when he is assigned to be a chaplain for patients in a residential hospice. Ben discusses the upcoming full performance of the musical and album recording on May 9th and the real life origin of the stories and songs in Life Review. Visit the website and support the Kickstarter campaign at the links below:

lifereviewmusical.com

Kickstarter Campaign for Life Review

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What inspired Ben to write a musical about hospice
  • How Ben ended up creating a one-man version of the show during COVID
  • The story arc of the musical and what it teaches
  • Audience reaction to the musical and why it creates “teachable” moments
  • Why the arts and media are important vehicles for educating the public about death, dying, and grief
  • The upcoming May 9th performance of the musical and live album recording at Johns Hopkins University
  • How (and why) to support the Kickstarter Campaign

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. And thanks to everyone who has bought me a coffee or made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 511 Being with Dying: Teaching Death to Medical Students with Kevin Dieter MD

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Learn about innovative educational programs for medical students and the impact they are having.

My special guest Dr. Kevin Dieter is a family medicine and hospice and palliative care physician who helped to develop the nationally recognized palliative care curriculum at Northeast Ohio Medical University. He created a virtual learning module called “Being with Dying” for medical and pharmacy students to teach them what they need to know to be at the bedside of a dying patient. He discusses the course he offers, including training healthcare providers. Learn more from his website:

walking-home.com

Watch on YouTube

Get the booklet: Facing Death with Grace

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Kevin first learned about end-of-life care from his patient “Mary”
  • How Kevin went from being a family doctor to a hospice doctor
  • The value of exposing medical students to dying patients
  • 3 Pillars of wisdom:
    • dying are our teachers both directly and indirectly
    • we are the medicine for patients in our presence
    • dying is more than a medical event
  • How he helped initiate a learning experience called “The Hospice Patient as Teacher” for 3rd year medical students
  • How patients don’t want their physician to “run away” when they are dying
  • The power of home visits for patients
  • What “Being with Dying” consists of
  • Why this course can be replicated by other programs
  • Why he no longer talks about “good” or “bad” deaths
  • How Kevin became an Anam Cara

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, and to @yogat3ch for buying me a coffee and James Schultz who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 510 Training Death Literacy Educators with Francesca Lynn Arnoldy

kwyattmd

Learn about an exciting new training to become a Death Literacy Educator and teach in your community.

My return guest Francesca Lynn Arnoldy is a doula and a published researcher with the Vermont Conversation Lab and she runs a program for Death Literacy Educators. She is the author of The Death Doula’s Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared, My Death Journal, The Map of Memory Lane, and Cultivating the Doula Heart. Today she discusses the importance of training educators who can help our communities grow in knowledge, understanding, and awareness of death. Learn more at her website:

francescalynnarnoldy.com

Get Francesca’s books

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What is death literacy
  • Why Francesca created this program
  • Training includes curricula and also tools for running a workshop and market it
  • Who might be interested in becoming a Death Literacy Educator
  • Why this movement needs space holders and not exclusively people who are dealing with death and loss themselves
  • What students experience during this training
  • Importance of sharing stories about death and grief
  • How the training helps students find clarity in their teaching and determine the content they prefer to teach
  • Tutorials and tools offered during the training
  • Grant created with Compassion & Choices to provide special training
  • The value of “attentional listening”

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 newest patron Stephanie Heilker, and to Curtis Robertson who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 503 Taboo Education: Changing the Way We Talk About Death with Samantha Waite

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Learn about breaking taboos around talking about death through a unique death education program in Australia.

My guest Samantha Waite is the quirky founding director of Taboo Education who works with individuals and groups in local, national (Australia) and international communities to resolve our taboo and confusion in talking about death. She is a long-time performing arts enthusiast as well as a trained counselor and youth worker with training in thanatology, psychotherapy and public health. She discusses some of the cultural differences around death and dying between the US and Australia and what Australia is doing right in terms of end-of-life care. Learn more at her website:

tabooeducation.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Samantha started Taboo Education
  • Why she chooses to dress in Victorian mourning clothes and how it serves her message
  • Why we sometimes wish people still wore mourning attire
  • Cultural differences between Australia and the U.S. in the death and funeral industry
  • Which countries have the best end-of-life care (and why some wealthy countries are failing)
  • Why the US is 43rd globally in providing care at end of life
  • Issues for healthcare providers around seeing death as a failure
  • The death doula movement in Australia

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, and to Kristina Oswath, Christine Maleck, and Patricia Cates for donating on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 482 Talking About Death on College Campuses with Jenna Yeam

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Learn how a college student investigating death and dying is starting student-run Death Cafés on her campus.

My guest Jenna Yeam is a senior at Duke University who is investigating what it means to die well anyhow we can help people die better. As part of her thesis she interviewed 67 death doulas to learn about the major issues that interfere with experiencing a “good death” and will publish her results in the future. She is now organizing student-run Death Cafés, called Dying with Duke, to encourage young people to have open conversations about death and dying. Learn more on this Instagram account:

Dying with Duke

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Jenna became interested in doing research on death and dying
  • What her thesis program on death doulas consists of
  • What she has learned from interviewing death doulas
  • How she was inspired to create a Death Café for students on her college campus
  • The student response to the Dying with Duke event she hosted
  • How she promoted it by word of mouth, physical marketing, and social media
  • The format of the Duke event and questions used to prompt discussion
  • What she learned from the first event and plans for the future
  • Tips for those who want to start a student Death Café or similar event on their campus
  • The ripple effect of encouraging young people to talk about death

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 Nancy Walker and Linda Fennigbauer and thanks to Linda for also making a Paypal donation! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 474 End of Life Studies Postgraduate Program in Glasgow UK with Marian Krawczyk

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Learn about a unique postgraduate program in Scotland that offers a global and cultural context to end of life studies for a diverse group of students.

My guest Marian Krawczyk is a medical anthropologist interested in the culture of health, illness and medicine, particularly in relation to the end of life. She is the Lead Convenor for the End of Life Studies Program at the University of Glasgow and will discuss what this program offers and what makes it unique in the field of end-of-life education. We will set the stage for future interviews with some of the graduates of the program where they will share their original research projects. Marian is also the founder of the End-of-Life Doula International Research Group, which you can learn more about at the following website:

eold.org

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Marian is researching the rise of the death doula movement
  • How the Glasgow program approaches the interdisciplinary study of death and dying
  • A non-traditional pathway of entry into the program is available including an introductory microcourse and a “taster” course
  • The diversity of students who have been attracted to the program from multiple countries
  • Insights from comparative studies across different cultural and international contexts
  • Being part of the “community of the unalike”
  • Marian’s research on experiences of ecological grief related to climate change and her interest in meeting students who are drawn to this work
  • Key issues that will shape the future of end-of-life studies
  • How to learn more about the Glasgow program of End of Life Studies

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 to Kitty for increasing your pledge, and to Roberta Cummins for joining 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

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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. 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.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 465 Podcast Playlist: End-of-Life Doulas with Karen Wyatt MD

kwyattmd

Learn all about end-of-life doulas from this comprehensive deep dive into the archives of EOLU Podcast!

This week I’m sharing a new feature: the “Podcast Playlist” which is a topic-focused deep dive into the archives of EOLU. I’ve created several anthologies of episodes that deal with specific subjects that might interest you. This is 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 EOL Doulas and you’ll learn a lot about what doulas do, why they are important, and various types of trainings that are available. 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:

View slides here

Handout of Presenters

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Other links for this show:

EOLPodcast

Ep. 451 Filling the Gaps in End-of-Life Care with Kaishauna Guidry MD

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Learn how a physician creatively meets the needs of patients who don’t qualify for hospice services.

My guest Dr. Kaishauna Guidry is an author, podcaster, healthcare advocate, mentor and educator. She came to medicine and hospice later in her career and founded Mourning Dove Medical as a private mobile medical practice, serving home-bound patients at the late stages of life and she is the author of The Real Deal About Hospice: Short Stories Highlighting the Advantages of Hospice Care for Patients and Families. She discusses her path to this work, her books and podcast, and how she coaches physicians who want to begin working with hospice. Learn more about her work at her website:

mourningdovemedical.com

Get the book here

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Why Dr. G started a mobile medical practice
  • Why some patients get discharged from hospice
  • How Dr. G provides continuity of care for people who no longer qualify for hospice care
  • How she guides people who are “pre-hospice” to do advance care planning and to be prepared for hospice when the timing is right
  • How Dr. G educates physicians about working with hospice and palliative care
  • What the book The Real Deal About Hospice teaches patients and their families
  • Why we still need more education about hospice for the general public and the medical community
  • What is the “hospice lifestyle”

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 newest donors James Reinders, Karen, and Susan Wright. Also thank you to Frederick Marx for buying me a coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 450 Death Doula World Training Day with Suzanne O’Brien RN

kwyattmd

Learn about a movement with a goal to train 1 million death doulas around the world.

My guest Suzanne O’Brien RN is the founder and CEO of Doulagivers Institute and a pioneer in the global death doula movement. She was awarded Worldwide Leader in Healthcare by the International Nurse Association and named Humanitarian Ambassador for Oprah Magazine in 2019. She discusses her experiences bringing death doula trainings to an international audience and her goal to train 1 million people to be death doulas. Learn more at her website:

doulagivers.com

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Suzanne ended up becoming a hospice nurse and then creating Doulagivers Institute
  • Following intuition to find our path
  • Gaps that exist in hospice care, including that families don’t receive training for caring for a loved one
  • Why we need the Good Death Campaign to train 1 million people as death doulas
  • The benefits of having a “roadmap” for the end of life
  • How Death Doula World Training Day will benefit the end-of-life movement in Guatemala
  • What Suzanne learned about life and death on a trip to Zimbabwe
  • The greatest lesson Suzanne has learned from working with the dying
  • There’s a huge need for death doulas now and in the future
  • The need for death doulas to do community education

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, and thank you to Påivi Vallo for your donation on Paypal. Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 447 Compassionate Communities and End-of-Life Care with Elizabeth Johnson, Erin Collins and Qwynn Galloway-Salazar

kwyattmd

Learn about a powerful international model that calls for a public health approach to end-of-life care and how we are championing it in the U.S.

This week I am hosting three guests who are my collaborators in a “think tank” on the Compassionate Communities Model: Elizabeth Johnson and Erin Collins of The Peaceful Presence Project and Qwynn Galloway-Salazar, creator of the Caring for Veterans Through the End-of-Life Series. We discuss the need for a Compassionate Communities approach to end-of-life care here in the U.S. and offer resources and ideas for spreading this model throughout the country. Learn more at:

compassionatecommunities.us

View handout below or download here

YouTube Channel

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How the four of us came together as a “think tank”
  • What is a Compassionate Community
  • Brief history of the compassionate community model
  • How this model could benefit end-of-life care in the U.S. in general
  • How the compassionate community approach can help us address specific issues: community death education (especially in rural areas), veteran care, caregiver crisis
  • “End-of-Life Friendly Criteria” as a simple tool to assess and map our communities
  • Public Health Palliative Care International (PHPCI) as a resource
  • FREE presentation on Compassionate Communities Model available May 1, 2024 (email with May 1st in the subject line: info@thepeacefulpresenceproject.org)

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 newest donors Penny Amyot and Amy Wilson. Also thank you to Anonymous for buying me a cup of coffee, Paullette MacDougal for sending a donation by mail 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. 415 End-of-Life Care for Children and Their Families with Toula Saratsis

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Learn how a grieving mother has been called to offer palliative, end-of-life, and after death care to children and their families.

My guest Toula Saratsis is a certified end-of-life doula who specializes in prenatal and pediatric palliative, end-of-life, and after death care support. She shares her poignant story of being called to this work after the death of her daughter Angelica from a life limiting condition. Toula’s work and wisdom are remarkable in a field of care that many find too painful and heartbreaking to pursue. She shows us that grief is a powerful transformer and creator of good in the world. Connect with Toula:

toulasaratsis@gmail.com Facebook:  Toula Saratsis Instagram:  @toula_saratsis

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Toula and Angelica’s story
  • How Toula managed to cope with devastating loss and grief
  • Why Toula felt well-suited to provide palliative and end-of-life care to children after facing death on a daily basis
  • How to inspire more end-of-life care providers to work with children even through their discomfort
  • How Toula advocates for patients and families within the healthcare system
  • The need for palliative and end-of-life care for perinatal death
  • How to talk to a child with a life-limiting condition about death
  • The importance of a home funeral after a child dies
  • Self-care while doing this work

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 newest donor Nadili, thanks to Kim Adams for upping your pledge, Kristin Kennell for your Paypal donation, and to Kathleen Vallee Stein for buying me 10 coffees! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 409 The Death Doula’s Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared with Francesca Lynn Arnoldy

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Learn about a brilliant workbook that helps us expand death literacy while exploring life’s deeper meaning.

My guest Francesca Lynn Arnoldy is a doula and a researcher with the Vermont Conversation Lab. She was the original developer of the end-of-life doula training programs at the University of Vermont and is the author of three “death-lit” books. In this conversation we’ll discuss her latest workbook The Death Doula’s Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared. Learn more at her websites:

www.francescalynnarnoldy.com

www.contemplativedoula.com

Get the workbook here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Reminder about Francesca’s previous book Map of Memory Lane and how it helps children learn about grief
  • Francesca’s main inspiration for creating this workbook
  • The value of keeping a “Death Journal”
  • How to use The Death Doula’s Guide as a death journal
  • The importance of acquiring both intellectual knowledge and inner wisdom
  • A heart-centering practice for death workers is a valuable tool
  • What death wellness means and how one can achieve it
  • The difference between sympathy, empathy, and compassion
  • How to do a life review

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 and to Robin Miniter for buying me 3 coffees! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 400 The Value of Death: The Lancet Commission Report with Dr. Libby Sallnow

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Learn about the important recent report from the Lancet Commission in the UK on the value of death and what each of us needs to do to help bring death back into life.

My guest Dr. Libby Sallnow is a palliative medicine consultant and honorary senior lecturer at St. Christopher’s Hospice and the UCL Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, UK. She is also the co-author of The Lancet Commission Report on the Value of Death: Bringing Death Back Into Life. In addition her PhD explored the translation of a model of compassionate communities from Kerala, India to London, UK. She discusses the creation of the report on The Value of Death and its key takeaways that can form a roadmap for the reform and rebalancing of death and dying in our societies. Learn more about her work at the website:

www.ucl.ac.uk/health-of-public/news-and-events/spotlight/spotlight-dr-libby-sallnow

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What inspired Libby’s interest in end-of-life care
  • The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death and what lead to their recent report
  • Why we need to rebalance death and dying
  • The “5 principles of a realistic utopia” as described in the report
  • Why we need to focus on death literacy first as we try to improve end-of-life care in our societies
  • The compassionate communities approach (to be covered in a future episode)

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 patrons Jeff Black and Lindsay Compton, and to Brittany Ellis for your donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 397 Talking About Death with ChatGPT

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Learn how the AI language model ChatGPT can be used as a resource for information about death and dying and when caution is required.

My special “guest” this week is ChatGPT an AI language model that can understand and respond to human language. Chat has been trained on a wide range of topics, including end-of-life care, hospice, palliative care, grief and bereavement, and advance care planning, among others. I conducted a written “interview” with Chat to test its knowledge and in this episode I report on my findings. In addition, I’ve compiled all of our correspondence into a book titled Conversations on Death with ChatGPT, which you can access now in ebook format. I hope you enjoy hearing about my adventures with Chat!

Get the book

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What an AI language model consists of and how to interact with it
  • The amazing depth and breadth of content and resources that ChatGPT was able to generate in a matter of seconds
  • What I learned about euphemisms for death from Chat
  • What Chat got wrong about for-profit hospice
  • How Chat needed better information about talking to children about death
  • Chat’s creative ideas for promoting advance care planning in predominantly Black communities
  • Chat’s thoughts about the 5-stages model of grief
  • A haiku Chat wrote about grief
  • How Chat helped me deal with guilt over my father’s suicide death

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 newest patrons Susan Mackey and Colleen Bracken, and to Laura Srygley for buying me a coffee and Fabricio Vasconcelos de Lima for donating on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 391 Dying in America: A Journalist’s Exploration with Ann Neumann

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Learn about this journalist’s research into “the good death” and what she learned through seven years of study and travel across the U.S.

My guest Ann Neumann is a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Harper’s magazine, The Baffler, Guernica magazine, and elsewhere. After caring for her father at his end of life she became a hospice volunteer and began to research the meaning of a “good death” in this country, which led to her book The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America. She shares some of the things she learned about death as she traveled the country and listened to opinions, beliefs, and stories about what constitutes a good death. Learn more at her website:

www.annneumann.wordpress.com

Get the book here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Ann’s experience caring for her father at the end of his life inspired her research for the book
  • How Ann and her family felt unprepared for the actual dying process even though they were receiving care from hospice
  • How the “gentle” marketing of hospice and death care services can obscure the reality of the challenges of dying
  • The tragedy of “false hope” being offered to patients rather than factual information
  • Where Ann found inspiration for each of the topics she covered in the book (e.g. medical aid in dying, pro-life movement, religious influence on dying, disability issues, prison hospice)
  • Why “dignity” can mean something different to people who live with disabilities
  • The extensive work needed to overcome racial disparities in end-of-life care and restore trust

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 newest patron Jason P. and thank you also the anonymous person who bought me 5 coffees! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 374 Why We Need to Talk About Death with Lisa Pahl LCSW and Lori LoCicero

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Learn how The Death Deck helps people have important and necessary conversations about death and dying.

My guests today are the co-creators of The Death Deck, a card game to help inspire conversations about death, dying and grief. Lisa Pahl LCSW is a Hospice Social Worker and ER Crisis Interventionist. Lori LoCicero is a writer and entrepreneur and runs a website to help others travel their paths through difficulty. Together they will share why they decided to create The Death Deck, how it can be used, and why conversations about death matter. Learn more about The Death Deck at the website:

www.thedeathdeck.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What The Death Deck offers and how it helps inspire conversations about death
  • Why it’s important to talk about death, dying and grief
  • How Lori feels she and her husband would have benefitted from talking about these issues before he became ill
  • New version (The EOL Deck) coming soon to help people who are facing terminal illness or at the end of life
  • Creative ideas for using The Death Deck in various situations

Links mentioned in this episode:

Buy me a coffee

Donate on Paypal

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, and to all who have made donations through Paypal or Buy Me a Coffee! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 370 Date with Death Club: Exploring Mortality in Community with Rev. Karen Johnston

kwyattmd

Learn about a free curriculum you can bring to your community to foster conversations about death.

My guest Rev. Karen Johnston is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and the founder of Date with Death Club. Her own spiritual practice centers on “befriending death” and she shares how this led her to create the curriculum for Date with Death Club. We discuss how to work on befriending death and why education about death is essential. Karen tells us how to join the Date with Death Club and register to use her curriculum for free. Learn more at her website:

www.datewithdeathclub.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Karen’s spiritual practice of befriending death
  • The benefits of making friends with death and losing fear
  • We must go through the fear of death rather than around it
  • How Karen became inspired to create the Date with Death Club
  • The subjects included in this secular curriculum and how they can be used in a variety of ways
  • What are “third things” and why they help us explore our heartspace about difficult issues
  • The importance of addressing our “eco-grief” right now
  • Why Karen is offering it for others to use at no charge
  • How to get involved and utilize the curriculum in your own community

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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 newest patron Bob McInnis, and to Dawn Greene for making a donation through Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 368 Why Death Education is Important with Karen Wyatt

kwyattmd

Learn some ideas for how you might teach others in your community about death and dying and why you should.

In today’s solo episode I’ll share with you my thoughts on why death education is so essential in our society today. No matter what type of work you do in the end-of-life field (estate attorney, hospice staff, death doula, home funeral guide, green burial practitioner, bereavement counselor) you need to help educate your community about death, dying and grief if you want people to utilize your services. Right now we ALL need to become death educators in our own special way and I’ll talk about why that’s true and how you might get involved.

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This episode includes:

  • We are living longer and developing complex diseases (like Alzheimer’s) with increasing incidence.
  • Medical tech continues to advance rapidly allowing us to prolong life (even when patient’s don’t want that).
  • Our society is divided over ethical and moral dilemmas around end-of-life issues like medical aid in dying and removal of life support.
  • Being unprepared for death has a high financial cost (too much medical care and wasteful after-death care)
  • There is also and emotional and spiritual cost to ignoring death.
  • Where we need to be teaching about death, dying and grief:
    • The home – showing parents how to talk to their children about death
    • Schools – teaching high school and college students about death through classes, book clubs, discussion groups
    • Churches – clergy members need to know about EOL issues in order to better serve their congregations
    • Workplaces – employers and staff need to know how to deal with death and grief at work
    • Medical facilities – of course all medical personnel need much more education about death, grief, and how to deal with EOL decisions
    • Assisted living and nursing homes – staff also need to know how to handle grief, help residents with ACP, create sacred space for dying residents

Links mentioned in this episode:

Buy me a coffee

Donate on Paypal

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 newest patron Francesca Arnoldy, and to those who have bought me a coffee and made a donation through Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.