What Really Matters: Palliative Care, Compassion, and the End-of-Life Journey

Dr. Gary Buckholz, Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego, Director of the Sanford Compassionate Communication Faculty Fellowship, and pioneer in academic palliative careDr. Kimberly Bower, Pediatric Palliative Care Physician at Rady Children’s Hospital and longtime advocate for family-centered end-of-life careWhat does it mean to truly care for someone when they are facing the end of life, or living with a serious illness? In this deeply personal episode, Drs. Gary Buckholz and Kimberly Bower join host Gabe Schnickel to explore the heart of palliative medicine, its misconceptions, and its often-overlooked role in organ donation, transplantation, and medical care more broadly.Together, they reflect on their journeys into the field, including the powerful moments, mentors, and patients who shaped them. The episode also explores:What palliative care is, and what it isn’tHow language and vulnerability can transform carePediatric palliative care and the deep wisdom of children and their familiesBurnout, empathy fatigue, and how compassion is a replenishable resourceThe critical role of palliative care in the transplant journey, for both recipients and donor familiesHow cultural denial of death in the U.S. affects decision-making, grief, and healingThe transformative power of the Sanford Compassionate Communication ProgramLinks & ResourcesSanford Institute for Empathy & Compassion at UC San DiegoSanford Compassionate Communication ProgramRecommended Books:The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie MackesyA Nightingale's Song: Nursing Notes to Gentle the Journey Through SeriousFrom tender patient stories to reflections on grief, joy, and purpose, this episode is an invitation to reimagine what it means to show up, with clarity, kindness, and humanity, when it matters most.Theme music by Geoff BowmanProduced by Leila Adler