https://vimeo.com/281135843 We just got back from Prague--and when we demonstrated asking permission there, our Czech colleagues told us it was...
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VitalTalk Conversations Blog
What’s missing from NEJM this week
By David Schwartz
/ June 14, 2018
https://vimeo.com/275071604 The latest issue of NEJM contains a Medical Decision Making case involving a 70 year old woman dying of sepsis and...
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Rapport Savings Account
By David Schwartz
/ May 22, 2018
https://vimeo.com/271178098/02f0a13d54 Have you moved too quickly to make plans for the next steps after delivering serious news but the family...
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Using Ask-Tell-Ask to Make a Recommendation
By David Schwartz
/ April 24, 2018
https://vimeo.com/266155415/021e582bdc How can you approach a patient who is resistant to one of your recommendations? Dr. Lynn O'Neill explains how...
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My talk with Seth
By David Schwartz
/ March 7, 2018
https://vimeo.com/258690720 I met Seth Godin last month and asked him if he had advice about communication with a patient as...
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Regulating Your Empathy
By David Schwartz
/ February 1, 2018
https://vimeo.com/254056063 When bluff & bluster are the new normal, empathy means more. But you have to know how to regulate...
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What’s a Headline?
By David Schwartz
/ November 16, 2017
https://vimeo.com/243086335 We've talked a lot about missing emotion cues. But giving information can be tricky, in a different way--so we're...
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Approaching Uncertainty
By David Schwartz
/ August 25, 2017
https://vimeo.com/231026848 Your patient just had a biopsy. The uncertainty is driving her crazy. What do you do? (Thank you for...
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Learning from an Expert Guru
By David Schwartz
/ June 21, 2017
https://vimeo.com/222576160 Anders Ericcson invented expertise research (think: deliberate practice)--and we've been following his work for years. Malcolm Gladwell mentioned his...
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Learning from Option B
By David Schwartz
/ May 1, 2017
https://vimeo.com/219623699 It's time to reboot the way we clinicians think about grief. Sheryl Sandberg talks about her experience here--and it's well...
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A Moment to Calibrate
By David Schwartz
/ April 26, 2017
https://vimeo.com/214348921 I don't usually visit cemetaries--they're usually staid and ceremonial. But this one was different. (Special thanks to our VitalTalk...
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When I’m Frustrated
By David Schwartz
/ April 14, 2017
https://vimeo.com/213207766 When we're frustrated with patients, what to do? What i learned in my training was not just ineffective--it probably...
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Emotions Are Not Things
By David Schwartz
/ March 22, 2017
https://vimeo.com/208908877 A body of research shows that emotions aren't what they seem--they're not pre-formed, not consistent between people, and don't...
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Creating Space for a Spiritual Moment
By David Schwartz
/ February 16, 2017
https://vimeo.com/204409371 When your patient asks you to lead the prayer (& you're not the chaplain), what do you do? Hint: channel someone...
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Resilience in a Time of Disruption
By David Schwartz
/ February 8, 2017
A little bit of wisdom from Arianna Huffington, with a VitalTalk spin: if you're perpetually outraged, they win... https://vimeo.com/203203138
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Not Exactly a Goal
By David Schwartz
/ January 18, 2017
https://vimeo.com/199708365 Sometimes patients find the notion of a 'goal' daunting. They stammer, get tangential, and don't point you to their...
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What you have in common with Metallica
By David Schwartz
/ November 22, 2016
https://vimeo.com/192378031 Whoa, enough with the emotional rollercoaster already! Today, we get granular, in the emotional sense, and learn from Metallica. (Yes, the heavy...
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When patients say “I’m a fighter”
By David Schwartz
/ October 24, 2016
https://vimeo.com/188609687 When you hear patients say "I'm a fighter", you might want to shake your head *no*. But you can...
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Adding a new skill
By David Schwartz
/ October 14, 2016
https://vimeo.com/186447411 When you're busy at work, how do you add a new skill? Hint: it rhymes with 'bigger'.
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Talking to a colleague
By David Schwartz
/ September 30, 2016
https://vimeo.com/185086460 You can't use the same exact skills to communicate with a patient that you use with a colleague. (Hint:...
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