Despite the optimism of modern medicine promising ever more miraculous cures, there are inevitably moments in medicine that compel us to face the fact that not all problems can be fixed. Recognizing the boundaries of medicine and navigating the space between what can be done and what should be done for a patient requires a fundamental shift in mindset, one imbued with an understanding that sometimes acceptance is the most compassionate response. Our guest on this episode, palliative care physician Sunita Puri, MD, has dedicated her life to probing this delicate space, uncovering wisdom along the way on what it means to live and die with purpose and dignity. She is the author of the 2019 memoir That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour, and her writings have often appeared in The New York Times. In this conversation, we explore how she discovered palliative medicine, the importance of language in medicine's most difficult moments, and how impermanence and grief help us make meaning out of a world that often seems chaotic and senseless.In this episode, you will hear about:How Dr. Puri’s relationship with her parents drew her into medicine - 2:46The inspirational way that Dr. Puri’s physician mother connected with patients - 4:49Dr. Puri’s experiences entering the field of palliative care - 10:56Reflections on what Dr. Puri needed to “unlearn” over the course of her career as a physician - 15:36The recognition that not all diseases can be cured and not all problems can be fixed - 21:37Advice on how to engage patients and families when further curative medical interventions are futile - 32:29Dr. Puri’s experiences on helping other doctors through difficult moments - 38:56Why Dr. Puri writes and how she came to write her book That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour - 43:43Grief, empathy, and the sacred mission of medicine - 49:24In addition to her memoir That Good Night, we also discussed her New York Times article "We Must Learn to Look at Grief Even When We Want to Run Away."You can follow Dr. Sunita Puri on Twitter @SunitaPuriMD.Visit our website www.TheDoctorsArt.com where you can find transcripts of all episodes.If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review our show, available for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you know of a doctor, patient, or anyone working in health care who would love to explore meaning in medicine with us on the show, feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments or send an email to info@thedoctorsart.com.Copyright The Doctor’s Art Podcast 2023