Many doctors are trained to do everything in their power to save the lives of their patients. But what if this is doing more harm than good? Dr. Jessica Zitter offers us a new way to rethink end of life care that looks beyond physical suffering to include healing emotions and spirit. By offering four things we can do to [...]
Dr. Jessica Zitter is a ICU & Palliative care physician at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. She is the Author of Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life, and featured in the Oscar nominated short documentary called Extremis (Netflix). Her mission is to humanize the experience of dying in our medical system, both by changing [...]
Since its origin, humanity has posed the question, ‘what really happens when you die?’ The presumed answers have defined culture, religion and community as we know them. Through a combination of near-death experiences, personal stories and scientific research, the documentary explores whether consciousness survives death, and why it matters when choosing end of life care. The When You Die Project [...]
In this episode, we talk with Jessica about how we avoid the conversation about death by hiding behind differences such as religion, culture, and race. She talks about why it is important to speak about death far in advance of being anywhere near it, about the conflict doctors have against the need and desire to keep people alive versus [...]
Dr. Zitter and Pastor Kennard explore the great divide between seriously ill African American patients and the healthcare system they come to for support. African Americans have suffered from inequitable treatment, exclusion, and neglect in our nation’s healthcare system. What factors contribute to this discrepancy, and how can we create change? Facilitated by Reverend Cynthia Carter Perrilliat, Executive Director of [...]
By CBS News Source: CBS News Sunday Morning Is a hospital room full of machines and tubes really the best place to spend our final days before we rest in peace? Perhaps not. Here's Susan Spencer of "48 Hours": At age 78 John Hawkins, a New York psychotherapist, and once an avid gardener, was near death from lung [...]
Dr. Zitter headlines a Dr. Oz Special, “The Death Show.” Here, she shares the steps we can take with our loved ones and healthcare team to ensure our preferences and values are honored.
As an ICU physician, Dr. Jessica Zitter has had a front row seat to the public health crisis that touches us all: people dying badly. Since each person has her own idea of what makes for a good death, we must engage in honest and courageous conversation to find a better path to the end of life. [...]
