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Pallimed Arts and Humanities is undergoing a redesign similar to Pallimed: Case Conferences.  There are still some bugs being worked out, and some new features being added including refined navigation.  Hopefully this cleaner look will increase the ease of use of the site, and encourage exploration of some of the wonderful posts from the archives.  These same changes will be coming to the main Pallimed blog in the next week or so.

We will roll out new features on all three blogs over the next few weeks, including a chance for you to write for any of the Pallimed blogs.  One of the more important changes is with the commenting system.  I was never a fan of the user interface under the basic Blogger template, but there was little room for customization.  I had been researching add-on commenting systems for a while and finally decided on Disqus (pronounced "discuss", get it?).  This platform has been implemented on several popular blogs and has been shown to have increasing stability, so we have finally made the switch.

So what does this new commenting system mean for you?

Pros

• No more word 'captchas' (the squiggly words)
• When you sign up for to follow the conversation with email, you get a really cool feature to reply straight from your inbox.  Just hit reply and your comment goes straight back to the blog.  Try it out!  It is pretty easy and  keeps the conversation going.
• Disqus allows us to build our community of commenters.  When you login (instead of just commenting as a guest) a user profile is started that tracks your comments and 'likes' from other people.  Our hope is as this system grows we can find a way to reward the commenters who contribute the most.  You do not need to sign up for a Disqus account, but it does allow for more functionality across multiple blogs if you comment a lot.
• You can attach links without knowing any html code and they will be clickable.  You can also embed videos and images easily.  
• You can log in with multiple other accounts securely.  Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and OpenID are all available.  Pallimed collects no information, such as user names or passwords from this type of login. 
• When you sign in with Facebook or Twitter, you have the option of sharing your comment with other people in your network. You have a chance to 'opt out' of sharing before posting, just look for the little square icon in the lower left area below the comment box.  We obviously would love for you to share your comment with your network and spread the word about Pallimed.  Since we have no advertising budget (or regular budget to speak of) anything helps to widen the discussion about palliative care intersecting with Arts and Humanities.
• You can still leave anonymous comments, although you will have to enter an email address to comment.  Obviously you could leave a fake one, but you would miss out on the great replies to your comment.

Cons

• It is a new system to learn, but it is pretty intuitive.
• If you are concerned about someone seeing everything you ever commented on, then you may not want to use this, but at the same time, it will help you to make sure that your comments are clear, straightforward and helpful even if critical. 

Please send any feedback to christian@pallimed.org

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Can't always get to a computer to get to Pallimed?  Well now iPhone (and iTounch and iPad) users have an option to read Pallimed and Pallimed: Arts and Humanities (including comments to both blogs) with the very first Pallimed FREE iPhone app.

by Pixel 196,5

Simple, well thought-out, a great way to keep up with the latest information in palliative care. I've never read this blog before but I'll be following it regularly now! Thank you for doing this.

You are welcome Pixel 196,5!

If you have an iPhone we encourage you to get the FREE Pallimed iPhone app and review it.  Maybe it will rise in the standings and more Pallimed naive people may get the app and learn more about hospice and palliative medicine issues.

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Welcome to Palliative Care Grand Rounds, the monthly review of the best of palliative care related blogs.  Welcome to Pallimed: Arts and Humanities if you have not been here before.  Take a look around this sister blog to Pallimed for some great commentary from Amber Wollesen and Amy Clarkson.

This month I am handing out awards because I am so glad to see so many bloggers talking about palliative care issues and I think some of them need to be recognized.  If you need to pick up your award, feel free to come visit me in Kansas City.

The Court Jester Award
Geripal's Dan Matlock post about the scourge of Some Other Disease (S.O.D.) as the leading killer of elderly patients was a well executed use of the old maxim: "Many a true word is spoke in jest."  I am hoping they do a post soon on The Methuselah Foundation. (And if you get a second fill out GeriPal's quick survey)

The Flower Pot Award
Angela Morrow from About.com's Palliative Care Blog discusses some of the impact of the Obama administrations relaxing of enforcement and investigation of medical marijuana users.  The education for palliative care professionals about the pros, cons, and legal risks about prescribing medical marijuana may soon need to be part of a palliative care curriculum nationwide given that Maine this week became the 5th state to approve dispensing of marijuana for medical use. (Can you name the other 3 states, besides California and Maine? - The answer is in the comments)

The World Citizen Award
Tam Royse from the Alive Hospice Blog reflected on her and her Agency's work with Hospice in the West in South Africa.  Seeing palliative care practices in other countries is a valuable exercise in understanding the luxuries and challenges we face ourselves in daily practice.  It is wonderful to see hospice programs partnering to bring together shared experiences.


The Meta Post Award
Jerry from Death Club for Cuties (next months' host of Palliative Care Grand Rounds) posted his abstract summary for his submission to the first Educational Exchange for the upcoming AAHPM Annual Assembly in Boston.  The submission is about learning about end of life issues via blogging.  Now the submission has not been accepted yet, But I heartily applaud Jerry for his openness in letting us read his abstract.  Even if it is not selected we can learn from this.  I think I might start publishing all my submissions as well.  What a great learning experience for those who want to present at conferences!

The Good Question Award
Maurice Bernstein from the Bioethics Discussion Blog asks the essential palliative care question "What is a good death?"  Sadly there are no comments from readers to this post, so if you have any opinions go leave them there.  If you don't have any opinions, then why are you reading this post? :-)

The Poetic Tragedy Award
Cancer Doc, a 'budding oncologist trying to make sense of the world' blogs about the death of one of his patients in 'Goodbye, Mr. B.'  This patient meant a lot to him.  You need to read it.  If there is one link you click on today this should be it. 

The Extroverted Introspection Award
David Tribble from the Alive Hospice Blog tells a brief but powerful story about the impact of professional caregiving for the dying.  Reading about his reflection and remembrance of a patient came at a time when I was feeling a bit calloused about the day to day work.  It was a nice refresher to remember the human side of what we do.

The Hard to Pick Just One Award
Leigh from Confessions of a Young (Looking) Social Worker was on fire with several great posts this month.  From storytelling to remarks on the administrative and bureaucratic hurdles of the hospice world, I could only pick one to highlight (but you should read more of her posts too) and that would be the one where she recounts the last time she talked with her grandmother. 

The Does This Kern Make My Font Look Fat? Award
Walter van den Broek from the blog Dr. Shock has a ton of intriguing posts every month, but one I think everyone should take a look at is his review of the new PubMed redesign.  We need more blog posts like this because there really is no other forum to talk about such matters which can have a huge impact on the gathering of medical information.  Maybe I'll write about it too.

The Speaking From Experience Award
Supa Dupa Fresh at the blog Fresh Widow makes a statement with her blog post, 'My Testimony: Reforming End of Life Care.'  A sample:

Don’t wait until there’s no “undo.” It’s the process, the conversation, that matters. Perhaps after diagnosis is too late to begin the discussion. Maybe when we hit 50 we should all talk about death. Or 40. It certainly should be part of every pre cana. Maybe it could be included in a rite of passage, if our modern lives would allow such things.

Read her post and give her a few words of support in her mission.

The Obligatory Halloween Award
We are reviewing October posts and since Halloween is one of my favorite times of year, I wanted to feature Keith Johnson from the Hospice Foundation of America blog, who reposted a 2008 article about Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead.  Great overview of how a entire culture can embrace end of life issues through public remembrance.  I hope that more people can share this unique event so that we may take some of the positive growth from it and spread it among those we care for.

The Kleenex Award
Thaddeus Pope from the blog Medical Futility did not need to write any commentary after posting the YouTube video about Baxter the Therapy Dog at San Diego Hospice who recently died October 16, 2009. 



Thanks for reading this month's Palliative Care Grand Rounds.  Get ready for December which will be hosted by Jerry at Death Club for Cuties.  If you are a palliative care related blogger and are interested in hosting an upcoming session, please email me ctsinclair@gmail.com Also, PCGR now has subscription options; you can follow by email or RSS feed. An aggregated feed of credible, rotating health and medicine blog carnivals is also available.

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(cross-posted from the Main Pallimed Blog)

For the many readers of Pallimed who have not commented on the any of the blogs (Main, Arts, or Cases) I would really encourage you to break your silence and be proud to say 'long time listener, first time commenter.' Here are some of the reasons why you should comment on blog posts:

1. Comments Are Peer-Review: Discussing a counter-argument to the original post helps balance the viewpoint and encourages the writer and other comments to better define the original point.

2. Comments Make a Community: By contributing you know are part of a small network of Pallimed commenters which provides a foundation for a growing community. Often times the commenters answer each other's questions before any Pallimed writer gets a chance to reply.

3. Comments Guide the Content: Sure blog topics are what we decide to write on, but how we decide to write on is influenced by great comments which open up new areas of interest.

4. Comments Are Currency: Comments help any blog writer realize they are not talking into thin air, which is what it feels like when you first press 'publish post.' And that currency can be cashed in as goodwill from any of the blog writers. If we get a request for more info or a favor from someone who comments often, we will be much more likely to reciprocate.

5. Comments Make a Better, Smarter Blog: Comments often lead to new resources, new links and new insights making the blog a better resource for everyone. Also like a huge crowd sourced editors desk, if you find a broken link, a misspelling, poor grammar, tell us. We'll fix it, then thank you for helping all future readers.

6. Comment Make you a Pallimed Author: Drew started this whole thing, but Thomas Quinn, Lyle Fettig and Christian Sinclair (me) all started out as commenters before becoming formal contributors.

Barriers to Commenting:

-Well now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

-See below.

-A comment doesn't have to be a long counter-point, it can express general agreement, a variation on a theme, a new question, a request for blogging on something different, etc.

-Comment anonymously. Don't say anything inflammatory. Say anything you would be willing to defend on the radio or in court. Talk about thing more generally. But using your own name actually establish you as a thought-leader and for continuity purposes lets us know who is doing the talking. Is anonymous one person or a 45 people?

How to Comment on a Blog Post:

Pallimed has a comment function (at the bottom of each post) that allows you to give us feedback on each post. Just click on the "comments" link at the end of each post (the link usually tells you how many comments have been left so it says, e.g., "0 Comments" or "1 Comment").

Comments Policy: The editors of Pallimed reserve the right to remove any comments we deem offensive/hateful, mean-spirited, commercial, or in any other way inappropriate. This blog is intended to foster collegial, well-informed discussions about research and news relevant to clinicians working with patients facing severe/life-limiting diseases: it is not a forum for discussing individual cases or airing complaints or concerns about specific cases (whether from the clinician, patient, or family perspective). Such comments will be removed at the discretion of the Pallimed editors. Any posts older than 14 days are moderated to reduce spam.

We ask that you refrain from providing specific details about cases because of HIPAA restrictions. But if you want to discuss a case more broadly, that would be more appropriate.

Our full comments policy is here.

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SURVEY CLOSED WED MARCH 18, 2009

Results posted on Pallimed Main blog in April

(re-posted from the main Pallimed blog)

Dear Pallimed Readers,

Thanks so much for joining us here at Pallimed. Last January we had our first annual survey to get some more structured feedback from the readers. (Here are the results from the 2008 Pallimed Readers Survey.) This year we ask you for a few minutes to complete this year's survey. (Last year the survey took less then 6 minutes on average.)

It is even shorter then last year's, since we took out some questions! Blame it on the economy, we cannot even afford more questions this year. Drew, Amber, Amy, Tom and I appreciate your feedback very much.

The survey is open for just one week. Please complete it only once. It is the same survey regardless of which blog (Main, Arts, Cases) you access it from.

We will not sell your information. We pledge not to bombard you with survey pop-ups, or separate emails asking you to finish this. It is a voluntary survey.

We are expecting to provide our readers with some feedback from the survey by the end of March.

Thanks,

Christian Sinclair (on behalf of Drew, Amber, Amy, Tom and Pallimed)

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Have you ever wondered what other people might be saying about a particular subject you see on any of the three Pallimed blogs? But to actually remember to go back and check the post is something you never get around to doing?

Well for Pallimed readers who subscribe via RSS* we now have a Comments Only Feed that will keep you up on the latest conversations on the posts. Each Pallimed blog (Main, Arts, and Cases) has its own individual subscription link in the left hand column.

Pallimed: Main Comments Only Feed (About 5-10/week)

Pallimed: Arts Comments Only Feed (About 2-4/week)

Pallimed: Cases Comments Only Feed (About 1-2/month)

We rarely get spam comments 2-3/month and we delete them within 2-4 hours usually, so this should not be a big deterrent. The 'Comments Only' subscription is not available for email subscribers at this time, but if you would like an email subscription option then email me directly or post a comment.

This post will be cross-posted to all three Pallimed Blogs. My apologies in advance for readers who see it multiple times.

*Really Simple Syndication.

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“Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it.”
Robert Motherwell

As this is the first post of the Pallimed: Arts & Humanities Blog, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell all of you why we feel this topic important. Why art and palliative care? What do the two topics really have to do with each other?

First of all, themes common to palliative care such as death, grief, and chronic illness are also common themes in the arts. People have been getting sick and dying since the beginning of time and they have been making art to memorialize the occasion for almost as long. It seems like such a great fit to talk about these topics together.

In palliative care, we deal with (and experience) a lot of emotions: anger, sadness, frustration, relief, sometimes even joy. The arts are a great outlet for emotions. Many people journal or write stories to deal with emotional issues. We use art therapy to help our patients deal with their illnesses. As lovers of the arts, we see writing this as a little bit of self-care (an emotional outlet for us). We hope that reading this blog is a little bit of self-care for you, the reader, as well.

Just writing this will be a great learning experience for us. We hope you will learn something and then teach us something new through your comments. We’re definitely not art experts, just interested palliative care doctors, so we’re open to hear if you agree or disagree with the things we write. Ultimately, we hope this builds your interest in palliative care and the arts so you can share your enthusiasm with those around you.

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Amber Wollesen, MD

I received my medical training from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and graduated in 2003. I stayed on there for the 3 years of my internal medicine residency. In 2006, I was selected to be a Chief Resident. That was an important year for me. I discovered an interest in palliative medicine and got married to Wayne. In 2007, I ventured away from UMKC and joined a palliative medicine fellowship at Kansas City Hospice. Next year, I hope to work at a local hospital doing inpatient palliative care. My major palliative care interests are quality in palliative care and resident education.

Amy Clarkson, MD

I attended the University of Kansas for medical school and graduated in 2004. Family Medicine was an easy choice for residency and I completed 3 years with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Kansas Hospital, finishing up my last year as a Chief Resident. After spending one day with the palliative care consult team, I knew I'd found my niche in medicine. I'm currently finishing a fellowship in palliative care with Kansas City Hospice and will join the physician group of that organization next year. Any free time not involved in medicine is spent with my lovely 16month old daughter and husband.

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The views expressed on this blog are solely the opinions of its contributors. They in no way reflect the views of our employers or any other institutions with which we are affiliated. Nothing on this blog is meant to be taken as medical or any other type of professional advice.

We do not host any of our own videos on this site. We do utilize already posted videos and we do post photos, quotes, and lyrics. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the material posted, please contact us. If you have the copyright on any of the material posted and object to it being used, we would be happy to take it down from our site or give proper credit.

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Thank you so much for visiting our blog. The Pallimed: Arts & Humanities blog is the second blog in the Pallimed family. As the name implies, our focus is a little different from our sister blog. Our aim is to explore how the arts and humanities influence and are influenced by topics in palliative care.

Our goal is not only to provide enjoyment for you, the readers, but also to have some practical uses in palliative care education, such as use of a movie clips or art in palliative care lectures. We will do this by choosing examples of art, music, cinema, literature, television, theatre or other media with themes related to palliative care (for example: end-of-life, chronic illness, ethics, grief). We will post a commentary about the work and its relationship to palliative medicine (this may be obvious).

Our target audience is anyone in the field of (or with an interest in) palliative care, medicine, the arts, or humanities. While some information may be palliative care specific and assume a familiarity with the field, we hope that those with medical and non-medical backgrounds alike will enjoy our writings.

Who is Pallimed:Arts & Humanities?

Amber Wollesen, MD

Amber(dot)wollesen(at)gmail(dot)com

Amy Clarkson, MD

Amylclarkson(at)gmail(dot)com

What are the arts and humanities?

We realize that art means something different to every person and culture. We generally think of the arts as the products of creative activity. Humanities are defined as "learning or literature concerned with the human culture". I think for the purpose of this blog, we will take a very broad interpretation to the definitions of arts and humanities. Any aspect of the human culture and it's creative activity are potential topics.

How do you choose the topics you write about?

It’s pretty much at random. We write about things that are interesting to us within the scope of this blog (arts and humanities). If you have things that you find interesting and you would like us to write about (or you would like to write about) please contact us.

How often do you post?

Our aim will be to post once per week.

Does Pallimed get referral fees for any of the links?

Pallimed does not get any referral fees for any of the links we provide. We do not participate in commercial advertising and so we do not accept any fees for advertising. We are all doing this on our own time without reimbursement.

What is a Spoiler?

A Spoiler is a line or paragraph that gives away the end or key plot element of a movie. We know that not all of our readers will have seen the movies we review. For that reason, we will hide any spoilers and place an asterisk on either side so you know they're there. We will also warn you when a spoiler is coming. It will look something like this: Warning: Spoiler ahead. Highlight to Read. *Spoiler info here*. Just highlight the text in between the asterisks if you want to know the end of the movie. Or watch the movie first and come back to read what we have to say.

How can I share my opinion?

Feel free to comment on any post. Pallimed has a comment function (at the bottom of each post) that allows you to give us feedback on each post. Just click on the link at the end of each post. We will also entertain guest posts if they fit into our aims.

We understand that the topics we write about are very subjective. You may agree or disagree with our interpretations. We hope you share your views with us.

Comment Disclaimer: Pallimed reserves the right to remove any comments we deem offensive/hateful, mean-spirited, commercial, or in any other way inappropriate.

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coming soon 3/22/2011

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coming soon 3/22/2011

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coming soon 3/22/2011

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coming soon 3/22/2011

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coming soon 3/22/2011

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coming soon 3/22/2011

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coming soon 3/22/2011