4th Edition Available – Resource Workbook, Visual Tools and Conversation Guide

WORKBOOK AVAILABLE ONLY BY CONTACTING VIKI DIRECTLY

I am excited to let you know the 4th edition which has 12 new pages of uniquely designed visual conversation tools is now available.  It includes articles, worksheets and templates  you can copy and share to help with issues such as evaluating danger, making challenging medical decisions, managing caregiver burnout, and communicating your end-of-life wishes. – Order here or email Viki directly.   Resource Workbook, Conversation Guide and Visual Toolkit   135 pages (8½ x 11)
Usually $40 – SPECIAL: $34.95 plus sales tax and shipping

       Table of Contents

• Section 1: Medical Decision Making Tools
  
• Crisis Planning Worksheet for Urgent Decision Making
• Quick Tips for Crisis Decision Making
• Drawing an Outcome Roadmap Article and Diagram
• Recovery is Not a Straight Line – Managing Expectations
• Weighing the Options – Risks, Benefits and Burdens
• Weighing the Options Exercise
• Is the Patient Willing to Endure the Burdens to Get the Benefits?
• Double Weighing the Options Exercise
• Combining an Option Roadmap with the Risks, Benefits and Burdens When Discussing the Alternatives Article and Diagram
• Two-Hand Test for Medical Decision Making
• Two-Hand Test for Medical Decisions Making Diagram
• Evaluating Medical Options Through Three Lenses
• Evaluating Medical Options Through Three Lenses Diagram
• Sliding Scale for Acceptability: Where are the Patient’s Boundaries?
• Sliding Scale for Acceptability Exercise
• Evaluating Treatment Options When You Know the Patient’s Long Term Goals Article
• Evaluating Treatment Options When You Know the Patient’s Long Term Goals Algorithm
• Four Boxes Motivation Article and Exercise – Exploring Why thePa tient Isn’t Following Your Treatment Plan
• 5-Step Process to Help the Person Get Out of Denial
• Questions to Ask When Making Medical Decisions
• 6 Tips to Improve Communication with Your Doctor
• Getting Ready for Your Doctor’s Appointment
• Section 2:  Evaluating Danger and Risk Tools        
• Can the Person Connect the Dots?
• Evaluating Danger and Risk When Making Decisions
• Evaluating Risk for Those Without Capacity Diagram
• Evaluating the Dangers Worksheet
• Solutions to Creating a Restraint-Free Life        
• Section 3:  Caregiver Conversation and Support Tools    
• Are You Care-grieving?
• The Ladder Diagram – The Caregivers Needs Count Too!
• Using the Ladder Diagram
• How is Your Relationship Now That Illness is a Part of Your Lives?
• Viki Kind’s 4-Step Process for Asking For and Accepting Help
• 4-Step Process for Asking For and Accepting Help Worksheet
• Caregivers and Guilt
• How to Say “No” Handout
• Section 4:  End-of-Life Conversation Tools      
• Insider’s Guide to Filling Out Your Advance Healthcare Directive
• Quick Tips for Filling Out Your Advance Directive
• Quality of Life Statement Template
• Viki’s Quality of Life Statement
• Guidance for My Decision(s) Maker
• What I Want My Doctor to Know About My Faith and/or Culture
• Having My Doctor Review My Advance Directive
• 5 Quick Tips for Making the CPR vs. DNR Decision
• Avoiding the Pitfalls in CPR vs. DNR Decision Making   
• Recommended Books and Additional Resources   
• Acknowledgements         

When you are standing alone in the hospital waiting room and don’t know what to do next, you can call me.

I remember when my mom was dying and I was sitting vigil with her in the hospital on the last day of her life. My brother, who I was close to, said to me, “There really ought to be someone who can help people with this.” And what he meant by “this”, it was the dying process. I said to him, “This is what I do, I am a hospice volunteer.” My brother knew me very well and knew that I worked with the dying, but he couldn’t imagine what that meant. And if he couldn’t imagine what a hospice worker does, then a lot of people may be confused or unsure.

But it is not just hospice that people have questions about. There are so many new things to deal with when a loved one is sick. There are specialists who can help you make your home safer for the patient, help you with applying for disability benefits or help you make decisions about both the short and long term plans.

I get called by so many people, whether it is for help during the dying process, help with figuring out what to decide when the patient can’t speak for themselves anymore or how to deal with a conflict in the hospital. You aren’t alone. I can help you when you are standing in the hospital waiting room asking yourself, “Am I doing the right thing? What do I do next?” You can run it by me and I will walk you through it.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Your Patients May Not Know How To Get The Help They Need.

I remember when my mom was dying and I was sitting vigil with her in the hospital on the last day of her life. My brother, who I was close to, said to me, “There really ought to be someone who can help people with this.” And what he meant by “this”, it was the dying process. I said to him, “This is what I do, I am a hospice volunteer.” My brother knew me very well and knew that I worked with the dying, but he couldn’t imagine what that meant. And if he couldn’t imagine what a hospice worker does, then a lot of people may be confused or unsure.

We can’t assume that our patients know how to get what they need. They may not even know what they need. They don’t know that there are specialists who can help them make their home safer for the patient, help them with applying for disability benefits or help them make decisions about both the short and long term plans. As professionals, you need to help them access the appropriate resources. If as a physician you don’t have the time, then make a referral to a social worker who can help the family cope with their changing life and health situation. Or find out what resources are available in your community and help them make the connections yourself.

I get called by so many people, whether it is for help during the dying process, help with figuring out what to decide when the patient can’t speak for themselves anymore or how to deal with a conflict in the hospital. You aren’t alone. I can help you when you are wondering, “Am I on the right track here? Am I doing the right thing?” You can run it by me and I will talk you through it.

Have a kind and respectful day.

Unethical behavior on Grey’s Anatomy

This won’t be the first or last time I will need to comment on unethical behavior on medical shows.

I am never surprised to see unethical medical behavior on television but I worry that the general public will think that this is how medicine is done.

Grey’s Anatomy had an episode last week in which one doctor went to speak to a patient’s loved one about donating their organs to a young boy who was dying. That would never happen in a non-TV hospital because doctors are not allowed to speak to the family about organ donation.

The only person who should be talking to the family is the representative from the local organ procurement agency. This protects doctors from having a conflict of interest by having to be both the person who is trying to save the patient and the person trying to take the organs after the death.

Another unethical thing that happened was what occurred after the doctor asked the wife for her husband’s organs and the wife said “no”.

Since other organs weren’t available for the dying boy, the doctor went back and put more pressure on the wife. This wouldn’t happen either. In medicine, we are supposed to respect people’s decisions, especially when they say no. Organ donation can not be a coercive process. You can ask, but you can’t push or force people to decide to donate their organs.

To make sure your family isn’t put in this situation without knowing your wishes, make sure you tell people what you would want in that situation. If you want to donate your organs after your death, then register your wishes with your local department of motor vehicles either online or in person. If you don’t want to donate, then you should write that down in your advance healthcare directive.

I believe in organ donation because organ donation saves lives. Maybe someday it will save yours.

Got a question? Ask Viki.