Upcoming Lecture
Health Care:
The Human Story
Anna Deavere Smith
Playwright - Actor - Professor
25th Annual Jonathan J. King Lectureship
Tuesday, October 6, 2015, 5:30 pm
Li Ka Shing Center: Berg Hall
Stanford School of Medicine
The Jonathan J. King Lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are necessary.
Li Ka Shing Center is located at 291 Campus Drive, Stanford. See map at http://med.stanford.edu/about/contacts/maps-directions.html.
Previous Lecture
24th Annual Jonathan J. King Lectureship video presentation
Discussing Palliative Care Earlier:
A Conversation Between Dr. Kalanithi and Dr. Quill
Timothy E. Quill, MD, FACP, FAAHPM
October 21, 2014
The Vision of Jonathan J. King
Three weeks before his death, Jonathan King defined the key messages he wished to bring to the attention of the medical community through these lectures.
- The patient is your client and should be treated with respect. Seek out and give full weight to your patient’s suggestions and opinions on treatments. Never, ever treat your patient as an object or as a second class citizen.
- Empathize. Put yourself in your patient’s
shoes as much as you can, recognizing that a
fatal or harsh diagnosis separates the patient from “ordinary” people. - Foster the patient’s feelings of control and hope, however small they appear scientifically.
- Base this on a foundation of honesty. In other words, tell the whole truth from the start, but don’t fear or disparage your patient’s drive for alternatives; help assure they are sensible.
- Help and urge the patient to build a support system. Urge the patient to bring a companion to office visits and other important events.
- Encourage the patient to consult other sources of information (including other doctors) and always make medical records available.
- Expect patients with a poor prognosis to
alternate between “frantic” search for solutions
followed by calm commitment to a plan. Be patient when your patient is frantic. - Make every extra positive gesture. They boost morale enormously and ease the feeling of being alone. Thoughtless comments rankle, and are likewise magnified.
- Make physical surroundings and institutional
arrangements — lighting, food, etc. — as
pleasant as possible. - Support efforts to speed up attempts to apply
promising but unproven treatments for patients
with a fatal diagnosis.
Past Lectures
Internal Staff Login