Resuscitation for the Soul: How to Talk to Patients With Critical Illness
Delivering serious news is one of the most challenging tasks for physicians, which is intensified by stressors unique to the emergency department, such as time constraints, limited information, and lack of established patient-provider relationship. Emergency medicine trainees often deliver serious news with little to no formal communication skills training and rely on observation, bedside teaching and clinical encounters to gain experience. But learning how to empathetically communicate with patients and families is easier than you may think.
In this session, evidence-based approaches to difficult conversations will be reviewed and a simplified, pragmatic framework for guiding discussions and responding to emotion with empathy explored. Participants will gain confidence in leading conversations with critically ill patients and families and teaching these skills to other healthcare providers.
Presenter:
- Carrie Harvey, MD
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Carrie Harvey, MD
University of Michigan
Dr. Carrie Harvey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and is board-certified in both Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. She completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, where she served as chief resident. She then completed a fellowship in Anesthesiology Critical Care at the University of Michigan, becoming the first emergency medicine graduate from this program. She is a former Assistant Program Director for the Emergency Medicine residency and is passionate about medical education, particularly surrounding high-stakes communication in the ED and ICU environments, for which she serves as an institutional instructor. Her clinical and research interests include delivery of palliative care in the ED and ICU, improving communication with critically ill patients and families, and the interface between ED management and ICU outcomes.