Because doctors are trained to fix problems, it’s difficult for many of them to talk about the one thing they can’t fix: death. In his book, Being Mortal, surgeon and New Yorker writer Atul Gawande explores how the medical profession could better help people navigate the final chapters of their lives with confidence, direction and purpose.
In a Frontline documentary based on the book airing tonight on SDPB-TV, Dr. Gawande interviews other doctors and sits in on their meetings with desperately ill patients. He also shares how he dealt with the death of his father, also a surgeon.
Tom Jennings directed Frontline’s Being Mortal and joined Dakota Midday to discuss the documentary.