Annual Lecture available online
31st August 2023
In May Professor Harvey Chochinov gave the 2023 Cicely Saunders International Annual Lecture online. The lecture was entitled ‘Intensive Caring: Reminding Patients they matter’. 2,800 people registered to watch the lecture live.
Referencing his early work with Dame Cicely Saunders in the 1990s, Professor Chochinov’s lecture explored the concept of putting patients at the centre of their care and the complexities around ensuring that patients are truly ‘seen’ by healthcare professionals.
“Hard-edged studies demonstrate that abandonment, the absence of someone who cares, is strongly connected to a patient’s desire for death and that being present is protection against suicidal ideation in young adults with cancer, for example.” Professor Chochinov also highlighted the limitations of the ‘golden rule’ when a clinician’s own point of view/subjective assessment interferes with delivering goals of care based on the patient’s own wishes.
Dr Harvey Max Chochinov is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute. His research in palliative care has resulted in more than 300 career publications, broaching diverse topics such as depression, quality-of-life, suicide, vulnerability, spirituality, and existential distress. He has also led a large program of research on dignity within the healthcare setting, which includes the development and study of Dignity Therapy.
The lecture is available to view on the Institute’s YouTube channel. Slides and references are downloadable here.