Dr. Jocelyn Jiao and Social Worker Mike Polisso of the Stanford Healthcare Palliative Team know the value of getting to know patients and families from the start of the care relationship.

As part of an interdisciplinary team providing neuropalliative care for people and families living with serious neurological illnesses, they’re supporting patients and caregivers and training other healthcare workers in palliative care.

Here are some topics discussed in this interview:

• Jocelyn discussed the importance of finding out communication preferences when it comes to early conversations about advance care planning and disease progression.
• Mike highlighted exploring preference questions with patients and caregivers, and staying curious to create opportunities for personalized care.
• Asking what kind of medical information is important to someone to know can create communication styles that are comfortable for the patient and caregivers.
• Mike finds many people don’t know that palliative care social workers have a variety of roles, including helping with complex medical decision making and dealing with family dynamics that are impacting care.
• Both Mike and Dr. Jiao recognize the need for ongoing self care to support the work they do.

You can find more resources and information about palliative care at caringinfo.org and getpalliativecare.org

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