Description
Reference code
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Item
Title
Ann Goldman oral history transcript.
Date(s)
- 2019 (Creation)
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Biographical history
Dr. Ann Goldman, M.D. became one of first physicians in the world to practice pediatric palliative care. She pioneered a holistic multidisciplinary pain and symptom management model with her development of the Symptom Care Team in the 1980s at the Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, England. During her clinical career, she worked to get pediatric palliative care recognized as a specialty by the College of Pediatrics, was a founder member of the children’s charity Together for Short Lives (formally ACT), mentored many of the current leaders in pediatric pain and palliative care, has edited and authored numerous research articles, texts, and book chapters. She is currently an editor for the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Care for Children.
Scope and content
Dr. Ann Goldman begins the interview by identifying some early field experiences as an oncologist researcher and observing service gaps in clinical patient care that didn’t acknowledge the psychosocial needs of families with chronically ill children. As Dr. Goldman was attempting to find guidance to develop her idea of providing more holistic care, she was met with some unease by peers and a discouraging message from Dame Cicely Saunders to not pursue this notion.
Undaunted and driven by her innate knowledge that this idea was right, Dr. Goldman then describes her experience of being demoted in hospital hierarchy to “invent a job,” where she could establish a pain and symptom management service for pediatric patients with palliative care elements. She describes that she developed her team model from influences in pediatric pain and the adult palliative care field.
Dr. Goldman was met with several challenges to her pain and symptom service. For example, there were no training resources for her multidisciplinary team. She also noted the importance of the relationships she developed that allowed her to expand beyond the oncology department.
Dr. Goldman describes one of her proudest achievements being her role in legislative and public advocacy to help bring about the recognition of pediatric palliative care as a specialty and to develop training materials for providers globally through her charity work Together for Short Lives.
Dr. Goldman concludes the interview with her vision of pediatric palliative care expanding outside of resource rich countries and helping resource poor countries achieve a greater degree of accessibility and to reduce the gap between children who need palliative care and children who don’t receive it.
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Preferred Citation: Item description, Reference Code, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.