Spot on. I recognized three months ago that I had six months until I was completely burned out. The impact of being able to see one in four requests for consultation in the absence of a team, despite 60-70 hour work weeks with two small children at home has been too much. The clock is ticking for me, and apparently many others, to transform our field. If we, in Palliative Care, cant address these fundamental determinants of well-being and sustainability, what guidance can we offer to people facing the completion of their lives that tell us over and over not to sacrifice our families and relationships for our work? Although I got three job offer in three weeks for positions that were all better paid, better supported, and structured for sustainability, I choose to stay. I choose to stay where I have cared for about 1400 people and families in the last seven years. I choose to stay in the home where my two children were born, where I was married, and where my pets are buried in the yard. I choose to step out of the box in the hope and faith that the mechanisms of funding better (rather than more) care are coming quickly. I hope to demonstrate to my community of Palliative Care providers, that we can provide soulful and capable care for both our patients and ourselves. Thus, ResolutionCare is inspired by devotion to my community and my neighbors facing huge challenges with serious disease, it is also grounded in self-preservation. By building a team and extending their reach with video conferencing, we will increase our capacity to meet the needs of our community. By using the Project ECHO model, we will multiply the impact of the scarce resource of our Palliative Care team by sharing knowledge and our approach to caring for and guiding to providers where people with serious illness receive care. We are committed to demonstrate that there is a better way. We are stepping into an evolving society that is interested in talking about these issues and in building people-centered structures of compassionate care. Please help us do something important and beautiful by contributing to our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, connecting with me directly, or introducing me to people of influence and/or means that you think will resonate with our work. Join us in building a sustainable profession. In community, Michael D. Fratkin, MD michael@ResolutionCare ResolutionCare https://indiegogo/proj... On Twitter: @MichaelDFratkin On Facebook on.fb.me/1pRgpQm My TEDx talk: bit.ly/1C0PTwO
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 18:35:39 +0000
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