Top 10 Ways You Know you Are at a Palliative Care Conference

10 ways you know you are at a palliative care
conference

10) the conference opens not with HEY EVERYBODY
WELCOME TO OUR 2007 SYMPOSIUM WOOOOOOOH! but "ok
everyone let's get started."

9) most of the powerpoints include slides of scenery
or dogs or both.

8) at no point has anyone said "After my presentation
I'll be signing autographs in the bookstore."

7) You learn at least one new way to administer a
narcotic

6) All the website addresses are forward slash bunch
of letters slash tilda letters underscore forward
slash tilda letter letter dot gov dot html

5) You're in Alaska

4) instead of free beer, free beads

3) evening activities do not involve drunkenness and
nudity (as far as I know)

2) one panelist uses the word "rectally" 27 times and
"suppository" 29 times and no one even blinks.

1) the room is filled with loving respectful people
who make a difference by giving of themselves

I'm grateful for the folks in healthcare who see how bad it is and try to make things different, but i am sad that the system makes it so difficult for them to do so, or that they forget to stop and care for themselves, that there is a high burnout rate. It's nice to know someone "inside" the system "gets it."