The Vision of Jonathan J. King
Three weeks before his death, Jonathan King defined the key messages he wished to bring to the attention of the medical community through these lectures.
- The patient is your client and should be treated with respect. Seek out and give full weight to your patient’s suggestions and opinions on treatments. Never, ever treat your patient as an object or as a second class citizen.
- Empathize. Put yourself in your patient’s
shoes as much as you can, recognizing that a
fatal or harsh diagnosis separates the patient from “ordinary” people. - Foster the patient’s feelings of control and
hope, however small they appear scientifically.
Base this on a foundation of honesty. In other words, tell the whole truth from the start, but don’t fear or disparage your patient’s drive for alternatives; help assure they are sensible. - Help and urge the patient to build a support system. Urge the patient to bring a companion to office visits and other important events.
- Encourage the patient to consult other sources of information (including other doctors) and always make medical records available.
- Expect patients with a poor prognosis to
alternate between “frantic” search for solutions
followed by calm commitment to a plan. Be patient when your patient is frantic. - Make every extra positive gesture. They boost morale enormously and ease the feeling of being alone. Thoughtless comments rankle, and are likewise magnified.
- Make physical surroundings and institutional
arrangements — lighting, food, etc. — as
pleasant as possible. - Support efforts to speed up attempts to apply
promising but unproven treatments for patients
with a fatal diagnosis.
Upcoming Lecture
Past Lectures
2012 Ira Byock, MD, The Ethics and Practice of Loving Care
2011 Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, MPH,
Hope, Emotions, and the Provision of Palliative Care
2010 Pauline Chen, M.D., Doctor and Patient: Lost in Translation
2009 Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, Fiction is the Great Lie That Tells the Truth
2008 Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, DLitt (Hon), FACP, Tools of the Trade: Old and New Technologies in Medicine and Singular Intimacies: Using Literature to Bridge the Cultural Gap
2007 Arthur Caplan, PhD, Show No Mercy? The Ethics of Access to Experimental and Novel Treatments2006 Harold Freeman, M.D., Poverty, Culture and Social Injustice: Determinants of Health Disparities
2005 Neal Baer, M.D., Doctors as Storytellers
2004 Atul Gawande, M.D., On the Ethics of Erring
2004 Eavan Boland, The Science of Curing and The Art of Healing: A Poet's Experience
2002 Albert R. Jonsen, Ph.D., Care of a Patient with a Brain Tumor: A Model for Humane Treatment
2001 Christine Cassel, M.D., Your Health and Public Health: What Really Matters
2000 Steve Schalchlin, patient/performer, Living in the Bonus Round
1999 Marisa Weiss, M.D., Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Doctor, Doctor, Lend Me Your Ear
1998 Kathleen M. Foley, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Transforming the Culture of Death in America
1997 Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D., Yale School of Medicine, Death and the Doctor: The Final Step in the Art of Healing
1996 Mark B. Smith, M.D., MBA, Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, Redefining Professional Ethics in the Era of Managed Care
1995 Jean Johnson-Pawlson, Ph.D., RN-C, FAAN, George Washington University, Listening for Footsteps: When is Health Care About Caring?
1994 Susan M. Wolf, J.D., University of Minnesota, Between Empathy and Detachment: Caregiving at the End of Life
1993 Thomas S. Innui, Sc.M., M.D., Harvard Medical School, Don't Pave the Sacred Paths...Healing in the Age of Biomedicine
1992 Robert S. Lawrence, M.D, The Rockefeller Foundation, Patients and Caregivers: Building Authentic Relationships
1991 Rita Charon, M.D., Columbia University, Let Me Take a Listen to Your Heart: Stories of Illness and Healing
J. King Video Clip: view streaming clip here (requires QuickTime Player) or download the clip here.
Internal Staff Login