Bienvenido, bienvenue, hello and welcome to the website, www.elementarymydearmd.com, and blog of the Elementary My Dear Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience.

My name is Dr. Michelle K. Watson, my pronouns are she/her/hers/ela/ella/elle, and as your bold, unabashedly intrepid host, I am pleased to have you accompany me on this sublime audio journey where the belief is that equity in medicine can be both evolutionary and revolutionary.

Our mission in healthcare is to include and stay divine, every single time. 

I am thrilled to have you accompany me on this journey to educate, investigate, evaluate, and create an open think tank for solutions necessary for achieving healthcare equity for BIPOC populations around the world.

The month of April has been designated National Health Care Decisions Month. More specifically, April 16^th is officially National Health Care Decisions Day, or NHDD.

NHDD is an acronym, and not a disease, although some treat NHDD as it were a disease to stay away from.

As your CDG, or Chief Diversity Guru here at The Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience, I invite all of my listeners, subscribers, sharers, supporters and followers to take a moment for themselves and those who are important to them on April 16, as an opportunity to pause and think about their health care wishes and to take action to make sure their wishes are known, if they ever become unable to direct their own care.

I desire to engage the American and international public at large in conversations that encourage people to think about their own personal wishes for their healthcare, particularly at the end of life, with the goal of getting people to:

• Plan ahead 
• Document those plans and 
• Let loved ones know their wishes

Be proactive for yourselves, and remind your doctors, hospitals, clinics, hospice, and palliative care providers to keep you, as patients, at the heart and center of your healthcare plans. National Healthcare Decisions Day gives everyone a reminder to do that for themselves. 

Put yourself at the center and think about your individual healthcare wishes. 

That way, if your loved ones ever need to direct your care, they will know what you want because your voice has already been heard.

NHDD was founded in 2008 by Nathan Kottkamp, a healthcare lawyer, to provide clear, concise, and consistent information on healthcare decision-making to both the public and providers/facilities through the widespread availability and dissemination of simple, free, and uniform tools to guide the process.

NHDD is a series of independent events, supported by a national media and public education campaign. 

In all respects, NHDD is inclusive and brings a variety of players in the larger healthcare, legal, and religious community together to work on a common project, to the benefit of patients, families, and providers. 

A key goal of NHDD is to demystify healthcare decision-making and make the topic of advance care planning inescapable. Among other things, NHDD helps people understand that advance healthcare decision-making includes much more than living wills; it is a process that should focus first on conversation and choosing an agent.

In other words, NHDD is public health.

The Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience is public health, done my way.

The world’s healthcare story is our healthcare story.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a lot of people into caregiving roles they never imagined for themselves. Making decisions for a loved one who is not able to do it for themselves can be agonizing. 

Take time now to think through the possible scenarios and make your wishes known to those who care about you most. 

Remember, here at the Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience, we have a multitude of resources for caregivers and care planning – including Advance Directives forms for every U.S. state – 

• Pamphlets
• Conversational scripts
• Advance directives templates

And a whole lot more!

Advance care planning includes completing an:

• Advance Directive (also known as a living will) and 
• Appointing a Health Care Power of Attorney (someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to speak for yourself). 

Then, most importantly, sharing your decisions with your family and loved ones.

Let us NOW take a Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience Advance Directives Mini Quiz:

WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO NAME SOMEONE TO SPEAK FOR YOU IN CASE OF SERIOUS ILLNESS?

· A: WHEN YOU’RE IN GOOD HEALTH

· B: WHEN YOU’RE IN A COMA

THE ANSWER, OF COURSE, IS “A.” 

THE PROBLEM? WE’RE RELUCTANT TO TALK ABOUT OUR MEDICAL WISHES IN CASE OF SERIOUS ILLNESS OR END OF LIFE.

The key messages here are:

· Modern medicine can do amazing things, but that can also require some very difficult decisions.

· Your loved ones can’t act on your wishes unless they know what they are.

· It starts with a conversation. Talk about your values and experiences, what’s important to you.

· It can be a bit scary at first, but it’s a great gift for the people who care about you.

Avoid:

· Focusing on the document (It’s about the conversation.)

· Focusing exclusively on death (Planning is needed for a time a person cannot make his or her own health care decisions.)

· “Getting it done” (Advance Care Planning is a process.)

· References to “death panels” or end-of-life politics.

Let us motivate one another to:

· “Have the conversation.”

· “Advance care planning is more than just a document. It’s a process of planning and conversation”

· “Things can happen at any time, to any of us, and it’s important to be prepared.”

You will most likely feel so much better about your healthcare after talking about it.”

· “Without the conversation, there can be confusion, conflict, and guilt in a situation that’s already very stressful. With a plan in place, you can focus on the things that matter.”

You will feel so much better prepared after the big discussion. 

Without this conversation, you could be stuck guessing exactly what your important person wants. Now you are empowered to navigate that situation.

· “This is a gift to you and your loved ones.”

Empowerment is a wonderful gift.

Here at the Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience, we desire to continue to make healthcare discussions the gift that keeps on giving.

Be certain to like, share, subscribe, and comment!

Informed, culturally relevant content.

Custom-created and curated for an informed listener base.

For a more informed future.

Elementary my dear listeners.

I am Dr. Michelle K. Watson, innovator, producer, host, and creator of the EMD HIM Podcast Experience. Join me on this audio revolution for a new episode every month on all major podcast hosting platforms. 

Don’t forget to like, share, subscribe, and comment.

At the information listed in the description area.

If you wish to donate to support and contribute to the Elementary My Dear Humanities in Medicine Podcast Experience revolution, becoming a supporter and benefactor to the creation of avant-garde content of exceptional quality, again, feel free to do so at the information listed in the podcast episode description area, or on this website, http://www.elementarymydearmd.com. 

Pertinent hashtags include:

#livewellwithdrmichelle

#learnwellwithdrmichelle

#laughwellwithdrmichelle

#bewellwithdrmichelle

#emdexecutive

I thank you for allowing me to be of service to you.

This is Dr. Michelle K. Watson, signing off, wishing all of you a safe and equitable life journey.

Until we meet again.

For the next episode in this revolution.

Evolve safely.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Namaste.