Episode 36: Power of Story
"The main impact on my life of this movement has been in building humility, building collaboration, listening better, being more curious about other people and less judgmental."
Dr. Jessica Zitter
This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Embrace Death, Live Life, hosted by ICU and palliative care nurse, Deborah Szeto. The Embrace Death, Live Life miniseries explores the work of palliative care in healing and how we can live fuller lives while embracing and normalizing death.
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What is the power of narrative? In this episode, Deborah talks with Jessica Zitter, MD, MPH, about the power of story in context of palliative care and her calling in this work. Dr. Zitter specializes in Critical Care and Palliative Care medicine, and practices at a public hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the author of Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life. Her essays and articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and other publications. Her work is featured in the Oscar and Emmy-nominated documentary, Extremis, as well as her new film, Caregiver: A Love Story. She is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of dying in America.
Dr. Zitter and Deborah talk about:
The power of story and the narrative medicine movement
How Dr. Zitter chose palliative care as a profession and how this work has shifted her perspective over time
The role of the caregiver in a patient’s experience and her new film
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