By Michael Ordoña Source: San Francisco Chronicle The Academy Awards will be handed out on Feb. 26 in Southern California, but some categories will have a distinctly Northern California flavor — especially among the short films. The feature drama “Moonlight” has grabbed the spotlight with nominations for adapter-director and onetime Oakland-San Francisco resident Barry Jenkins, supporting-actor favorite and [...]
By Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter Source: San Francisco Chronicle It is only natural to compare the Marlise Munoz and Jahi McMath cases. Their similarities are striking - parallel timing, dual diagnoses of brain death and the unspeakable, shocking nature of the events. Their differences are equally intriguing - one family desperate to continue medical interventions, the other fighting to withdraw them. The cases, [...]
By Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter Source: San Francisco Chronicle Ariel Sharon, the 11th prime minister of Israel, died Jan. 11 after spending eight years in a coma on life support. Gilad Sharon proudly asserted that his father was a fighter until the end, outlasting doctors' expectations by two weeks. This final act, he implied, embodied Sharon's tendency to defy [...]
By Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter Source: San Francisco Chronicle Writing an advance directive is often considered step one for people who want to have a voice in the medical decisions made at the end of their lives, even if they are no longer able to communicate. I am a palliative care physician who preaches about the importance of completing [...]
By Jessica Nutik Zitter Source: San Francisco Chronicle This is an issue woven deeply into the fabric of our society. It will take decades to unravel and will require major legislative changes on the federal and state level. There will need to be a sea change in medical training around issues of death and dying. Trainees will have to [...]
By Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter Source: San Francisco Chronicle Clara V. was mopping the floor when her heart stopped. The paramedics arrived 12 minutes later and restarted her heart, but she would never wake up again. When I became her Intensive Care Unit doctor four weeks later, Clara's lungs were still inflating and deflating to the rhythm of the [...]
