Friday, 11 December 2015

My Directives App


While this app is not particular to British Columbia, it does allow the writer to capture pertinent details about their wishes for future health care. Because it's the conversation, not the document, that is crucial, I think that no matter what jurisdiction I might find myself in, the information I have provided for my healthcare agent(s) in this app will be really helpful when they have to make decisions on my behalf.
I found the process of making an advance directive using this app to be very easy. I think it's particularly useful for travelling.

Sunday, 6 December 2015

Decision Making and Critical Illness

Sunset in Windhoek, Namibia
Two helpful tools to walk individuals through the complexities of making decisions about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and life support.
The CPR Video decision aid describes what is involved in CPR and the life support decision aid  prepares individuals to consider care options for themselves or family members in the case of critical illness - Decide Together.
These resources were developed under the leadership of Jennifer Kryworuchko, an assistant professor at the UBC School of Nursing.

Thursday, 3 December 2015

Dr. Duncan Sinclair - Putting the Responsibility Where it Belongs

Listen to Dr. Duncan Sinclairformer Queen's University Dean of Medicine as he describes what frail health means to him and the steps he is taking to both delay the onset of frailty and to ensure his end-of-life care decisions are closely followed.
Dr. Sinclair, by writing and disseminating an advance directive detailing his goals and values, is determined to put the responsibility for end-of-life decision-making where it belongs - on his own shoulders.

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

Eight Minutes that Could Change Your Life

Conversations yield end-of-life benefits.
Click on this link to view video.

Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Using the BRAIN Acronym


An easy-to-remember discussion tool is the BRAIN acronym. Use the letters of this word to help you in advance care planning situations as you are preparing for health care conversations with health providers about life-impacting decisions.

Benefits
What are the benefits of this procedure/treatment? 
Risks
What are the risks of this procedure? How might this negatively affect me/my family/my friends?
Alternatives
Are there alternatives to this procedure/treatment? Are there other options?
Intuition
What is my gut feeling about this?
Need Time or Nothing
Can I delay this procedure and take some time to think about it? Discuss it with my family? What will happen if I choose to do nothing for now?

Tuesday, 14 April 2015

National Advance Care Planning Day - April 16, 2015
Check out this advance care planning clip.