About Empathy

Dr. Maxxine Rattner is a hospice/palliative care clinician and educator who recently completed her PhD on the topic of non-physical suffering. In this episode, we discuss the challenges in addressing non-physical suffering and the importance of making space within palliative care to do this intrinsically difficult work and approach the work without the expectation of “fixing” suffering. 

Dr. Zhimeng Jia is a palliative care physician at the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care in Toronto.  Through a combination of personal and clinical experiences, Dr. Jia developed an interest in health inequities that Asian immigrants experience at the end-of-life. In this episode, he shares the lessons he has learned in providing culturally aware care to patients and their families.

Dr. David Lysecki is the Founder and Medical Director of the Quality of Life & Advanced Care Program at McMaster Children's Hospital. In this episode, Dr. Lysecki discusses his experience working in pediatric palliative care, and how he navigates both the rewards and challenges of working in this area. We also discuss how we can ensure that palliative care and pediatric palliative care become...

Shortly after Mishi Methven and her partner Aimee’s daughter Stella turned two, they were given the devastating news that Stella only had months to live.  In this episode, Mishi shares how they navigated Stella’s diagnosis of a fatal brain tumour - Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma - guided by the philosophy of finding joy in the everyday.

Julie Vizza was born with a multifaceted genetic condition, beta thalassemia-major. She joins the podcast today to discuss her journey in the healthcare system and how these experiences have inspired her work as a patient advocate; providing a voice for those with complex health care needs with an aim to improve the system for all.

In this episode, Billy Bridges shares his inspiring ideas for addressing Ableism with empathy and offers a rallying cry for disability advocacy. Billy Bridges is an extraordinary Canadian athlete who has represented his country in six Paralympic Games, winning gold (2006), bronze (2014, 2018), and silver (2022) medals. He's also a four-time World Champion, including two Championship MVP awards, an...

At the young age of 18, Serena Tejpar was injured in a car collision as a backseat passenger that left her in critical condition with almost no chance of survival.  Despite the many challenges that came with her injuries, she was determined to get better and return to her daily activities. This trauma reaffirmed Serena’s interest in medicine as a career. She is currently attending medical sch...

In 2022, Brian Smith’s life was profoundly changed by a diagnosis of metastatic cancer. In this episode, Brian shares his experiences of living with cancer, the supports he relied on to get him through a challenging series of treatments and how his cancer seemingly expanded his life’s horizons.

In this 2 part episode, we chat about the importance of compassionate and dignity conserving care. He provides the learners with many pearls on how to bring this important and essential style of care to the bedside through our discussion of the dignity question, the platinum rule and his other work and research in this area. The Platinum Rule Seeing Ellen and the Platinum Rule Strategies and appro...

In this 2 part episode, we chat about the importance of compassionate and dignity conserving care. He provides the learners with many pearls on how to bring this important and essential style of care to the bedside through our discussion of the dignity question, the platinum rule and his other work and research in this area. The Platinum Rule Seeing Ellen and the Platinum Rule Strategies and appro...

Mitchell Consky is a Toronto- based journalist. His work has been published in the Globe and Mail, CTV News and other international news outlets. Mitch has written and published a book entitled Home Safe: A Memoir Of End-of-life Care During Covid-19. This work is centered around his father, Harvey Consky, a Toronto based lawyer and beloved family man. Through his book, Mitch helped preserve his fa...

Even when an Advance Care Plan is in place, Dr Maria Muraca learned that unforeseen circumstances can come up. Maria was the Power of Attorney for her father, Michele, who died one year ago of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Maria is a family physician, as well as an advocate and teacher of advance care planning. She is here to tell us about her personal experience with her father’s changing advanc...

Doctors for Protection from Guns https://www.doctorsforprotectionfromguns.ca

Over the last year, the impact of systemic racism in healthcare has come into sharper focus. From racialized populations being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, to the cruel and senseless death of Joyce Echaquan in a Quebec hospital, it is more important than ever to look inwards at our own racial biases and at the widespread inequity that exists in the health care system.  RESOURCES I...

Stacey (Greenberg) is here today to tell us about her father who lived with Multiple Sclerosis in a long-term care facility since 2014. During the pandemic, Stacey had limited contact with her father and he was sadly isolated from his loved ones in his final days due to COVID-19 visitor and caregiver restrictions. Although he did not die of COVID-19, there were significant changes that impacted hi...

For more information on Andrea’s work: https://andreawarnick.com

Get to know our hosts https://www.aboutempathy.com/about-hosts

This is Part 2 of 2 episodes on Medical Assistance in Dying. Part 1 is a discussion with doctors who provide the treatment.

This is Part 1 of 2 episodes on Medical Assistance in Dying. Part 2 will feature an interview from a patient.