Challenging end-of-life encounters can be stressful and may lead to burnout. Monthly debriefing sessions are led by a physician and clinical social worker (LCSW). Sessions focus on experiences and emotional reactions rather than case details. Themes identified included; feeling unsupported after difficult deaths, identifying with patients emotionally, and conceptualizing a "good" versus "bad" death. Debriefing provides opportunities for residency physicians to reflect on the affective side of their work and helps promote resiliency.

Assistance with discussing goals of care is one of the most common reasons clinicians seek out palliative care consultation. In practice though, the phrase ''goals of care'' is often utilized as a buzz phrase that lacks a shared understanding of its clinical relevance. We present a case example in which breakdowns in communication occurred between a patient and clinicians due to misunderstandings of the meaning of the phrase ''goals of care.'' Subsequently, we review the literature to propose a unified definition of ''goals of care'' in hopes to minimize differences in what this phrase implies in clinical practice. We also seek to introduce a standardized process for establishing goals of care that may offer a more reliable and measurable method to promote goalconcordant care.