#028 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Andy Baxter, the founder of the Cunniff-Dixon Foundation.  The Foundation is named in honor of Andy's wife, Carley, who died of breast cancer in 2005, as well as in honor of her physician, Dr. Peter S. Dixon.  The mission of the Cunniff-Dixon Foundation is to enrich the Doctor-Patient relationship near the end of life by fostering human development in medicine and supporting and funding projects relating to Palliative Care.   In 2009, along with the American College of Surgeons, the Foundation produced Surgical Palliative Care ..read more

#027 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews neurosurgeon and writer Dr. Jody Stern.   Jody discusses his recently released book, Grief Connects Us, which was inspired by his sister Victoria's illness and death from leukemia as well as his brother in law Pat's death from a ruptured aneurysm.   Jody speaks candidly about how these experiences changed him as both a person and as a surgeon.  He reflects upon the importance of emotional agility and the challenges of practicing as a surgeon while maintaining an open heart.  However, he also notes that "if a neurosurgeon ca ..read more

#026 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she once again has the privilege of interviewing Dr. Balfour Mount, the founder of Palliative Medicine.  Bal recently released his 500-page memoir entitled Ten Thousand Crossroads:  The Path as I Remember It and he generously returns to the show to  talk about his book.  He discusses his friendships with both Dame Cicely Saunders and Elizabeth Kubler Ross and shares lessons he learned from both women.  He also reflects upon the many lessons he learned from his patients and  how his own journey with multiple cancers influenced hi ..read more

#025 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Drs. Buddy Marterre and Pringl Miller, whom - along with Red - founded the recently launched Surgical Palliative Care Society (SPCS), the first inter-disciplinary society dedicated to the integration of high quality palliative medicine into the care of surgical patients.  They discuss the origins of the society, review its mission and talk about how Buddy's work as a beekeeper inspired the non-hierarchical approach to the creation of our Council and Committees. Membership is open to all healthcare professionals involved in the care of su ..read more

#024 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Patricia Murphy.   Pat is a nurse and is recently retired as the Clinical Clinical Ethicist at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. She is an associate professor in the Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School Department of Surgery and served as a member of the New Jersey Bioethics Commission, the multidisciplinary body that developed the Advance Directive and Brain Death legislation in New Jersey.  She is responsible for teacher generations of medical students, residents and attendings how to care for patients and families during ..read more

#023 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews pharmacist Dr. Mary Lynn McPherson, Professor and Executive Director of the Advanced Post-Graduate Education in Palliative Care in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland,  Program Director of the Online Master of Science and Graduate Certificates in Palliative Care (also at University of Maryland), host of the Palliative Care Chat Podcast and author of the very well-known book  Demystifying Opioid Conversion Calculations: A Guide for Effective Dosing.  Lynn is a well-known speaker and a res ..read more

#022 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Dan Hinshaw, professor emeritus of surgery and palliative care consultant at University of Michigan.  Dan discusses how his wife's work with HIV positive veterans first led him to contemplate the nature of  suffering and spirituality.   He shares how his surgical training has made him a more effective palliative care doctor and how his palliative care training made him feel like a "complete surgeon."  Dan offers practical skills about how to take an effective spiritual history and how to share "bad news" while maintaini ..read more

#021 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Rebecca Aslakson, an anesthesiologist - triple-board certified in anesthesiology, critical care medicine and hospice and palliative medicine - and a well known researcher who has devoted her career to improving the delivery of effective and equitable palliative care, particularly to perioperative and critically ill populations.   Rebecca is an Associate Professor at Stanford University with appointments in both the Department of Primary Care & Population Health in the Palliative Care Section and the Department of Anesthesiology, P ..read more

#020 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Preeti John, a surgeon triple board-certified in general surgery, surgical critical care and hospice and palliative medicine.  Preeti currently practices at the VA Maryland Healthcare System in Baltimore and is the Facility LSTDI (Life Sustaining Treatment Decisions Initiative) Director, coordinating all aspects of this Veterans Health Administration's quality improvement initiative in the in-patient and out-patient settings and intensive care units.  Preeti is also a healthcare ethics consultant and serves on the national Societ ..read more

#019 - Join host Dr. Red Hoffman as she interviews Dr. Janet Bull, chief medical officer of Four Seasons, a Hospice and Palliative Medicine organization in Western North Carolina.  Janet began her career as an obstetrician-gynecologist.   After witnessing the illness and death of a close friend, she left her practice and eventually began volunteering at Four Seasons.  Janet was instrumental in starting the Palliative Care program at Four Seasons as well as the Clinical Research Department.  She is a prolific researcher and has won multiple awards including the Sharon O. Dix ..read more