This book is a memoir by a physician who went into medicine to be a lifesaving hero and emerged advocating for a cultural shift in the way we care for dying patients. I expected Extreme Measures to be a didactic discussion of end-of-life care for seriously ill patients in critical care units; however, it is a personal account of one physician’s journey from new intern to attending physician, dual certified in critical and palliative care. In an honest narrative tone, Dr Zitter describes a diverse assortment of clinical experiences, each illustrating a specific lesson learned. Although some cases demonstrate the depth of her compassion, others show how she struggled to communicate effectively with patients and families and realized that her education and training had not prepared her for an essential component of patient care.

Nurses reading this text can both relate to Dr Zitter’s experiences and learn from them. When...

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