Name: What really matters at the end of life
Uploaded: 2015-09-10T14:59:01Z
Duration: 18 min 58 s
Description: At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it's simply comfort, respect, love. BJ Miller is a hospice and palliative medicine physician who thinks deeply about how to create a dignified, graceful end of life for his patients. Take the time to savor this moving talk, which asks big questions about how we think on death and honor life.

BJ Miller: What really matters at the end of life

What really matters at the end of life

At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it's simply comfort, respect, love. BJ Miller is a hospice and palliative medicine physician who thinks deeply about how to create a dignified, graceful end of life for his patients. Take the time to savor this moving talk, which asks big questions about how we think on death and honor life.

End-of-life care often centers on disease, not people, leaving many to suffer unnecessarily. After losing three limbs to an accident, the speaker found profound meaning in small moments, like holding a snowball in a hospital. Shifting the focus to comfort, dignity, and sensory connection transforms both dying and living. Creative, human-centered care can turn anguish into beauty and help people find meaning, even at the end.