Communication Surrounding Palliative Care with Mettle Health

In this episode, host Shikha Jain, MD, speaks with Mettle Health’s Claritza Rios, MD, and Bridget Sumser, SW, about misconceptions surrounding palliative care, communication training as self-care for physicians and more.

•    Welcome to another exciting episode of Oncology Overdrive :50
•    About Sumser 1:07
•    About Rios 1:52
•    The interview 2:18
•    About Rios and how she got into palliative care 2:47
•    About Sumser’s journey and how she ended up in the palliative care space 4:15
•    How do we approach the stigma of palliative care? How do we handle the misconception of palliative care and how can we change the narrative? 6:47
•    Palliative care and hospice care 15:26
•    Patient hope 24:21
•    Communication training as a form of self-care 28:52 
•    Can you tell us about Mettle Health and how people can find you? 31:28
•    Holistic care for patients 33:27
•    Authenticity and being present for patients 36:58
•    If someone could only listen to the last two minutes of this episode, what would you want them to take away? 43:26
•    How to contact Rios and Sumser 45:52
•    Thanks for listening 47:05

Claritza Rios, MD, is a dedicated physician educator with extensive experience in emergency and internal medicine.

Bridget Sumser, SW, became a social worker to help people living with serious illness. Over the course of the last 10 years, she has worked across settings, providing support and companionship to patients, families, community members, and providers.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at [email protected]. Follow Healio on X, formerly known as Twitter, and LinkedIn: @HemOncToday and https://www.linkedin.com/company/hemonctoday/. Follow Dr. Jain on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ShikhaJainMD. Sumser can be reached via email [email protected]. Rios can be reached on Instagram @claritzariosmd. Learn more about Mettle Health by visiting mettlehealth.com. 

Disclosures:  Jain reports no relevant financial disclosures. Rios is an MD in Internal Medicine; Emergency Medicine; Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Sumser is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.