The first time intensive care unit physician Jessica Zitter encountered the “family support team” — a precursor to the palliative care services now routinely found in hospitals — it didn’t go well. Zitter felt threatened. She thought, “Who are these people getting in the middle of my relationship with my patients and telling me I’m not doing it well or not asking enough questions?”

Like many doctors early in their careers, Zitter was convinced her role was to save patients “from the jaws of death.” Over the years, however, she came to realize she was often causing more suffering, particularly for those who were dying or frail. But that was the paradigm in which she had been trained. “The way I had been taught,” she said, “was when this organ starts to fail, insert this catheter. And when that cardiac function isn’t working, use this medication. And when the person stops being able to breathe, insert a breathing tube.”

Read the complete story and see my interview with Zitter on Medium.

Steven Birenbaum

Steven Birenbaum is a former senior communications officer who supported CHCF’s work to improve care for patients with complex chronic conditions, including older adults and people experiencing homelessness. As a grantmaker, he set strategy to strengthen and support nonprofit journalism in California, overseeing grants to public media outlets, a data fellowship program, and the daily news digest California Heathline. Read More

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