are critical care physicians turned off by the thought urging some patients who could go into palliative care to do that instead? i guess are all intensivists 'pro-life' at most costs because this field calls for such a mindset?

:laugh: You apparently haven't a clue.

Really. I've known quite a few intensivists who appropriately urge families to withdraw care on patients who have very remote chances of survival or quality of life.

awesome :)
well in that case, i also wonder if there are many instances of liability issues in which the patient's family wanted someone to stay alive even after they heard the physician's opinion and though the physician followed their requests, the family still thought the physician didn't do "the best of their ability" because of hearing those previous opinions of the physician. this might also be the wrong forum... i'm not usually a smart one for categories.

Really. I've known quite a few intensivists who appropriately urge families to withdraw care on patients who have very remote chances of survival or quality of life.
I was referring to the OP's comment:
i guess are all intensivists 'pro-life' at most costs because this field calls for such a mindset?

are critical care physicians turned off by the thought urging some patients who could go into palliative care to do that instead? i guess are all intensivists 'pro-life' at most costs because this field calls for such a mindset?

The wise intensivist knows when the game is over. 99 times out of a hundred, it's the family that wants to push on at all costs, not the doctor.

Kind of off-topic, but of the dozen or so palliative care physicians I know, ~1/2 of them started as CCM, the other 1/2 as oncology.

I'm currently working in the ICU and withdrawal of care one one patient or another is something we talk about pretty much every day on rounds. On the whole, I think intensivists are probably more likely to withdraw care than most other specialists.

Speaking of palliative care, it's sad that emergency physicians will have this new subspecialty certification, but critical care isn't offered.

Speaking of palliative care, it's sad that emergency physicians will have this new subspecialty certification, but critical care isn't offered.

WHAT??!!!

I really hope not; as I think I would like to practice critical care on the side, and I'm leaning back toward EM as my specialty choice (still only MS2). Ah well, that's several years away, maybe things'll change by the time I finish a residency in 2013.

That being said, with all the people dying...do intensivists have high malpractice?

Not really...its in the mid range for all specialties.