Extreme Measures
Author: M.D., Dr. Jessica Nutik Zitter,
ISBN: 9780525533412
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Year first published: 24 Aug 2021
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback / softback
Plt;bPgt;Now in paperback.Plt;/bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;/bPgt;
Plt;bPgt;For readers of Plt;iPgt;Being MortalPlt;/iPgt; and Plt;iPgt;Modern DeathPlt;/iPgt;, an ICU and Palliative Care specialist offers a framework for a better way to exit life that will change our medical culture at the deepest levelPlt;/bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt; Plt;brPgt;In medical school, no one teaches you how to let a patient die.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt; Jessica Zitter became a doctor because she wanted to be a hero. She elected to specialize in critical careP#8212;to become an ICU physicianP#8212;and imagined herself swooping in to rescue patients from the brink of death. ButP#160;then duringP#160;her first codeP#160;she found herself cracking the ribs of a patient so old and frail it was unimaginable he would ever come back to life. She began to question her choice.Plt;brPgt; Plt;iPgt;Plt;brPgt; Extreme MeasuresP#160;Plt;/iPgt;chartsP#160;ZitterP#8217;sP#160;journey from wanting to be one kind of hero to becoming anotherP#8212;a doctor who prioritizes the patientP#8217;s values and preferences in an environment where the defaultP#160;choice is the extremeP#160;use of technology. In our current medical culture, the old and the ill are put on what she termsP#160;the End-of-LifeP#160;P#160;Conveyor belt. They are intubated, catheterized, and even shelved away in care facilities toP#160;sufferP#160;their final days alone, confused, and often in pain. In her work Zitter has learned what patients fear more than death itself:P#160;the prospect of dying badly. She builds bridges between patients and caregivers, formulates plans to allay patientsP#8217; pain and anxiety, and enlists the support of loved ones so that life can end well, even beautifully.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt; Filled with rich patient stories that makeP#160;aP#160;compelling medical narrative,P#160;Plt;iPgt;Extreme MeasuresP#160;Plt;/iPgt;enlarges the national conversation as it thoughtfully and compassionately examines an experience that defines being human.
ISBN: 9780525533412
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Year first published: 24 Aug 2021
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback / softback
Plt;bPgt;Now in paperback.Plt;/bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;/bPgt;
Plt;bPgt;For readers of Plt;iPgt;Being MortalPlt;/iPgt; and Plt;iPgt;Modern DeathPlt;/iPgt;, an ICU and Palliative Care specialist offers a framework for a better way to exit life that will change our medical culture at the deepest levelPlt;/bPgt;Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt; Plt;brPgt;In medical school, no one teaches you how to let a patient die.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt; Jessica Zitter became a doctor because she wanted to be a hero. She elected to specialize in critical careP#8212;to become an ICU physicianP#8212;and imagined herself swooping in to rescue patients from the brink of death. ButP#160;then duringP#160;her first codeP#160;she found herself cracking the ribs of a patient so old and frail it was unimaginable he would ever come back to life. She began to question her choice.Plt;brPgt; Plt;iPgt;Plt;brPgt; Extreme MeasuresP#160;Plt;/iPgt;chartsP#160;ZitterP#8217;sP#160;journey from wanting to be one kind of hero to becoming anotherP#8212;a doctor who prioritizes the patientP#8217;s values and preferences in an environment where the defaultP#160;choice is the extremeP#160;use of technology. In our current medical culture, the old and the ill are put on what she termsP#160;the End-of-LifeP#160;P#160;Conveyor belt. They are intubated, catheterized, and even shelved away in care facilities toP#160;sufferP#160;their final days alone, confused, and often in pain. In her work Zitter has learned what patients fear more than death itself:P#160;the prospect of dying badly. She builds bridges between patients and caregivers, formulates plans to allay patientsP#8217; pain and anxiety, and enlists the support of loved ones so that life can end well, even beautifully.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt; Filled with rich patient stories that makeP#160;aP#160;compelling medical narrative,P#160;Plt;iPgt;Extreme MeasuresP#160;Plt;/iPgt;enlarges the national conversation as it thoughtfully and compassionately examines an experience that defines being human.
