Episode 13: How Your Healthcare Proxy Can Navigate End-of-Life Conversations Through Advance Care Planning

What happens when your family has to make life-or-death decisions, but nobody knows what you would have wanted? End-of-life conversations are uncomfortable, but waiting until a medical crisis forces you to have them can leave your loved ones making incredibly difficult decisions without clarity.

In this episode, Dr. Monique Nugent talks with Amy Yannick, a certified conscious dying coach, doula, and educator, about how to approach these conversations before you need them.

Together, they explore how advance care planning can help you identify what matters most, choose the right healthcare proxy, communicate your wishes, and create a shared understanding among the people who may eventually advocate for you. You’ll learn: How to choose and prepare a healthcare proxy who can actually advocate for your wishes—even when emotions are running high.

How to have end-of-life conversations in bite-sized pieces so you can discuss values, medical interventions, comfort, spiritual practices, and where you want to receive care. How advance care planning can reduce uncertainty and guilt for both you and the people who may one day have to make decisions on your behalf.

Listen to this episode to start having the difficult conversations now, so your loved ones can focus on being present with you rather than guessing what you would have wanted. Prescription for Admission is a podcast for Gen X and Millennial family caregivers navigating the healthcare system and medical system for loved ones living with conditions like diabetes, dementia, cancer, heart disease, and cognitive decline, helping them understand hospital care, navigate hospital stays, work effectively with doctors and specialists, organize medical records, connect with a case manager, seek a second opinion, become an effective medical advocate, and improve care coordination and discharge planning.

Visit my website: ⁠⁠ Shop & Resources: The Shop: Get the Book and other Advocacy Resources Hospital Smart Packages: Choose the perfect Hospital Smart Package for yourself Follow us on socials for daily advocacy tips: ⁠⁠Instagram/@the_happiest_hospitalist⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Facebook/DrMoniqueNugent⁠⁠ ⁠⁠LinkedIn/DrMoniqueNugentMDMPH⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube/@DrMoniqueNugent⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok/@drmoniquenugent⁠ Support the Show If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe and leave a 5-star review . Your support helps us reach more people who need a map through the hospital maze.

Prescription for Admission is a resource to help you navigate healthcare with confidence. Remember, you are your own best advocate.