End-of-life curriculum is more than teaching about the clinical care of the patient and support of family. These medical students overwhelmingly identified the need for coping strategies when confronting the dying patient. Teaching students these coping strategies should be an integral part of an end-of-life curriculum. Writing exercises cannot only help students recognize and reflect upon their emotions and feelings, but also allow educators a window into curricular elements that need to be added to death and dying education.

Dyspnea, defined as uncomfortable or labored breathing, is a common and often devastating cause of distress for patients and their caregivers with advanced cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The mechanism by which dyspnea develops is not fully understood, but it involves integration of the central respiratory complex with the sensory (perceptual) cortex. The gold standard of diagnosis is patient self-report. Careful assessment should be undertaken to identify reversible existing causes. Systemic opioids are the first-line therapy for symptomatic management, along with other general comfort measures (positioning, cool air, calming environment). Medical or surgical management can be directed toward underlying causes. Advanced care planning should include discussions concerning the burdens and benefits of medical/surgical management of underlying causes of dyspnea to more effectively direct goals of care. This article reviews current literature on dyspnea, with a focus on items published since 2000.

No abstract

This article discusses how the development of a longitudinal geriatric assessment form facilitated a case management program in identifying high-risk frail elders within a military family practice clinic. A careful review of geriatric assessment tools was performed. From this review, a model geriatric assessment form was developed. A "SWOT" (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the family medicine department was completed to determine if the environment was ready for case management. Analysis of the SWOT data revealed that the environment was favorable for a population-based approach to case management. Results of this initial study are encouraging. The new longitudinal geriatric assessment form has assisted family practice residents in organizing problems and data while seeing elderly patients. As a direct result, higher-risk frail elders have been identified for closer evaluation and follow-up. Future goals are to measure outcomes-based data and to refine the geriatric assessment process.