The Caregiver's Path To Compassionate Decision Making: Making Choices For Those Who Can't

Viki Kind, 216 pages, Greenleaf Book Group (July 1, 2010)

Wouldn't it be a relief to know you are making the right decisions and doing right by the person in your care? Whether you have a loved one who can't make his or her own decisions or you are a healthcare professional, you know how difficult--even heartbreaking--it can be to make decisions for others. Feeling confident that you're made the right decision would be a welcome relief from the worry and guilt you may be feeling.

The Caregiver's Path to Compassionate Decision Making offers tools and techniques that will limit your frustration and fears and help you make informed, respectful decisions. Extremely practical, yet also heartfelt, the book offers:

• Four adaptable tools that make decision making a simple, step-by-step process
• Guidlines to help you determine if your loved one or patient can make decisions, who should make the decisions, and how to make better decisions
• Questions to use in almost any medical or quality-of-life situation that will help you gather all of the information you need
• Techniques for improving communication between patients, families and caregivers
  

Author Notes:

Viki Kind, MA, is a clinical bioethicist, medical educator, and hospice volunteer. She is a renowned lecturer, who inspires healthcare professionals throughout the United States to have integrity and compassion and teaches them techniques to improve communication about end-of-life care. She is the co-creator of the nationally distributed DVD, The Trusted Advisor: Relate, Respect and Respond, which focuses on improving the senior patient's medical experience. Patients, families, and healthcare professionals have come to rely on Viki's practical approach to dealing with challenging healthcare dilemmas.

Viki provides bioethics consultation and support for many hospitals in the Los Angeles area. She is also a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Bioethics Committee and the Southern California Bioethics Committee Consortium. She holds a master's degree in bioethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin and a bachelor's degree in speech communication from California State University and Northridge. She also has specialized training in mediation and cultural negotiation from Pepperdine University and UCLA.

Viki resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Ed, and her cat, BooBoo.

Link to Amazon to buy this book. Or visit the publisher at Greenleaf Book Group LLC

Viki's Web site has lots more information on caregivers and ethics, plus many helpful resources. Definitely worth a look.

Labels: brain injuries, caregivers, ethics, TBI, traumatic brain injury