Palliative Medicine Teaching

12/01/2026

This wide ranging interview with Hospice NZ CEO Wayne Naylor and Maryanne Spurdle from the Maxim Institute covers why the hospice movement matters, the challenges it faces, and what would improve Kiwis' end-of-life care.

Wayne explains how hospices care for people in their own homes and community - keeping people out of hospitals; how the funding model leaves all providers still fundraising for core services; and why New Zealand’s international palliative care ranking has steadily declined. He also discusses how attitudes toward death in health care shape the system’s priorities, and why the future could look brighter with new models of care and funding in the pipeline. Thank you to maxim.org.nz.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-palliative-care-matters-a-conversation-with/id1479360000?i=1000741563226

31/12/2025

Well-deserved congratulations to Prof Rod MacLeod MNZM on his new recognition in the NZ New Year’s Honours List for 2026! 🍾🍾🍾

To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:

MACLEOD, Professor Roderick Duncan (Rod), MNZM

For services to palliative care

Professor Roderick MacLeod has contributed to hospice and palliative care for more than 35 years.

Professor MacLeod was Senior Staff Specialist in Palliative Care at HammondCare in Sydney and Conjoint Professor in Palliative Care at the University of Sydney from 2012 to 2017. He returned to New Zealand in 2017 and retired from clinical practice in 2019. He holds an honorary position with the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health and continues to contribute to academia. Since 2015 he has been a reviewer for several research councils internationally and presented keynote addresses overseas. He was Co-Editor in Chief of the major reference work ‘The Textbook of Palliative Care’ (2019 and 2024). He was Clinical Advisor to the Hospice New Zealand Board from 2020 to 2022. He chaired the Hospice NZ National Innovations Evaluation Group from 2015 to 2017 and served on their conference organising committee until 2022. He contributed to the University of Auckland’s Enhancing New Zealand Clinical Trials Project Delphi study in 2021. He was Clinical Director on the Board of the PINC and Steel Cancer Rehabilitation Trust from 2015 and Chair from 2020 to 2022. He chaired the Clinical Committee of The Violet Initiative until 2024. Professor MacLeod co-authored the international award-winning cookbook for seniors ‘Lobster for Josino – fabulous food for our final days’ (2018).

28/12/2025

This resonates deeply. Grief isn’t something to overcome; it's something we carry with us that reminds us of what matters.⁠
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✍️ Words by Adam Grant

27/12/2025

27/12/2025

Life is full of unavoidable twists and turns. This conversation reframes those difficult times with an alternative perspective…but it’s so tough!

27/12/2025

Growing Around Grief is a model created by grief counselor Dr. Lois Tonkin. Tonkin came up with the model after speaking to a client about the death of their child. The woman told Tonkin that at first grief filled every part of her life. She drew a picture with a circle to represent her life and shading to indicate her grief. It was all-consuming.⁠
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She had thought that as time went by the grief would shrink and become a much smaller part of her life. But what happened was different. The grief stayed just as big, but her life grew around it. There were times where she felt the grief as intensely as when her child first died. But there were other times where she felt she lived her life in the space outside the circle.⁠
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This view of grief does not tell someone that their grief will go away in time. You will never be "over it." It acknowledges that there will be some days where you feel grief as strongly as you did when the person first died. But there will also be days when you are able to move on with other parts of your life.⁠
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The "growing around grief" model shows how we can still grieve the loss of our loved one while carrying on with our own lives. It shows that we can grow a new life which includes the loss.⁠

🎨 Art by creative.clinical.psychologist on Instagram
✍️ Words by Cruse Bereavement Support

27/12/2025

25/12/2025

In the 2025 Lancet Wakley Prize winning essay, Donna Wakefield explores how personal experiences and understanding of the social determinants of health can transform patient care and foster a more inclusive healthcare system.

Read now via the link in comments 💬

24/12/2025

As we head into the holiday break and experience a change of pace – our thoughts are with everyone living with life-limiting illness, their families, friends, and the many workers and volunteers who continue providing care and support.

This time of year can be joyful, but it can also be tender and bittersweet. However you are spending the coming weeks, we hope you find some moments of comfort, connection and rest.

The Palliative Care Australia (PCA) team will be taking a short break and closing the office from 25 December to 2 January.

From all of us at PCA, thank you to everyone who helps make quality palliative care possible in our communities – at home, in hospitals, in residential aged care, and in the community. We see you, and we appreciate you.

Camilla Rowland
CEO Palliative Care Australia

23/12/2025

Supporting a patient who is imminently dying can feel confronting, especially for staff early in their careers 💛

In Module 2 of our Orientation to End-of-Life Care, Jesse explores how to respond when a patient is imminently dying, and what this means for nursing care across a shift.

Learn more about providing compassionate end-of-life care and the vital role nurses play in hospital settings 🩺
https://www.endoflifeessentials.com.au/Education-Modules/Orientation-to-End-of-Life-Care

21/12/2025

Hospice, Heal Thyself - Ira Byock’s latest commentary on hospice care.

“Authentic hospice care is at once highly professional and sophisticated and intimately personal. It can transform patients’ experiences and families’ lives. We must not lose this level of human caring.”

Authentic hospice care is at once highly professional and sophisticated and intimately personal. It can transform patients’ experiences and families’ lives. We must not lose this level of human caring.

15/12/2025