This blog describes how a doctor helped a family to move from asking the doctor to make a decision, to thinking through what their mother’s wishes might be for her end of life care, and how this has influenced the doctor’s subsequent practice.

Using the question ‘Tell me more about your mother’, the family was able to think about what the person would value and what they would consider a good life. This process helps families to move from feeling solely responsible for the trajectory of their relative’s life, to communicating what the patient would want out of her life.