On Medically-Assisted Dying (with Dr. Stefanie Green)

The Doctor's Art

Henry Bair and Tyler Johnson

Medicine, Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Philosophy

5 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2023

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

One of medicine's thorniest ethical questions concerns the lengths to which a physician should go to ameliorate suffering, including the use of medical means to hasten death. Yet, particularly for those who care for patients with, or for those who live with, serious illness, this question is all but inevitable. In this episode, Dr. Stefanie Green, the current president of the Canadian Association of Medical Assistance in Dying Assessors and Providers, shares her experiences helping patients die and how she views this branch of medicine. Dr. Green has been at the forefront of the change in legal regulation and clinical practice around medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada. In her 2022 book, This is Assisted Dying, she shares the delicate, challenging, and humane moments she has witnessed while navigating this unique work.

Disclaimer: This episode does not advocate for or against medical assistance in dying. Rather, it seeks to understand why a clinician may choose to perform this work. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please call or text 998 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In this episode, you will hear about:

How Dr. Green transitioned from a career in maternity care to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) - 5:14
A brief legal history of MAiD in Canada, beginning with Rodriguez v British Columbiaand including the sea change that came with Carter v. Canada - 6:39
An overview of how MAiD works today in Canada - 12:14
How MAiD works in the United States, specifically in California, and the role of prognosis in a patient’s eligibility for MAiD - 15:43
Dr. Green’s reflections on how two decades working in maternity prepared her for MAiD - 20:45
The specific process by which Dr. Green helps her patients die - 24:13
The first patient encounter in which Dr. Green provided MAiD - 27:53
Reflections on the frame of mind Dr. Green must adopt in order to perform this work - 35:04
How Dr. Green processes the difficult emotions arising from her work - 43:22
Dr. Green’s reflections on her role as a patient advocate when handling family conflicts at end of life - 47:50
Advice for clinicians about connecting with patients through empathetic presence - 51:35

Dr. Stefanie Green is the author of This is Assisted Dying.

You can follow Dr. Stefanie Green on Twitter @DocSGreen.

Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Henry Bear.
0:03.4	And I'm Tyler Johnson.
0:04.8	And you're listening to the Doctors' Art, a podcast that explores meaning in medicine.
0:09.9	Throughout our medical training and career, we have pondered, what makes medicine meaningful?
0:15.2	Can a stronger understanding of this meaning create better doctors?
0:18.8	How can we build healthcare institutions that nurture the doctor-patient connection?
0:23.2	What can we learn about the human condition from accompanying our patients in times of suffering?
0:28.0	In seeking answers to these questions, we meet with deep thinkers working across healthcare,
0:33.1	from doctors and nurses to patients and healthcare executives, those who have collected a career's
0:38.1	worth of harder and wisdom.
0:40.2	Proving the moral heart that beats at the core of medicine, we will hear stories that are
0:44.0	by turns heartbreaking, amusing, inspiring, challenging, and enlightening.
0:49.3	We welcome anyone curious about why doctors do what they do.
0:52.8	Join us as we think out loud about what illness and healing can teach us about some of
0:57.7	life's biggest questions.
1:00.8	Welcome to the Doctors' Art.
1:05.6	The conversation we are going to be having today differs in some important ways from our
1:10.2	past episodes.
1:11.8	And Tyler and I wanted to introduce this episode with a special note.
1:16.3	One of medicine's thorniest questions concerns a physician's responsibility to those who are
1:20.9	suffering.
1:22.4	While we all agree broadly that doctors should ease suffering whenever possible, significant
	...

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