In this episode of MEDICUS - the Podcast, we talk about the conversation that we dread having the most, one of society’s biggest taboos: death.

Joining us on this episode are:

Professor Eric Finkelstein, the executive director of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care at Duke-NUS. The Centre’s twin mission focuses on research and education to improve end-of-life care. Beyond publishing research papers on end-of-life care, the Centre’s research faculty ensure that the findings are communicated to the wider community. They also test interventions from medical decision aids to health education strategies so that they can quickly become common practice.

At the same time, the education team, led by Dr Alethea Yee, provides end-of-life care education to a range of health professionals, from pharmacists and nurses to social workers, who are often the ones in touch with those who need palliative care. The Centre aims to train as many individuals as possible to ensure that every patient has access to end-of-life care.

Clinical Professor Lalit Krishna, a senior consultant with the Division of Supportive and Palliative Care at the National Cancer Centre Singapore. He is also a clinical professor at Duke-NUS and teaches medical students how to have difficult conversations. His office is decorated by T-Rex and Raptor, his two boys, and acts as a charging station that empowers him to be there for his patients at their most vulnerable moments.

As well as Duke-NUS medical students, Ms Cheong Jie Qi, Mr Kok Chun Yen and Ms Lim Chu Hsien.

The music in this episode is "Anastasia" (composed by Ailbhe McDonagh for grade-3-level piano) as performed by Juno Young.

Poetry featured in this episode is "Gone from my Sight" by Henry van Dyke and "First Fig" by Edna St Vincent Millay, recited by Juno and Finn Young.