Mark Taubert

Last updated
Prof Mark Taubert
FRCP FRCGP FLSW
ProfMarkTaubert.jpg
Born
Hessen, Germany
Alma materUniversity of Dundee
OccupationConsultant Physician
Known forTEDx Talk "Why language matters when you are dying"
Notable workTalk CPR Learning and Education Resources "TalkCPR"
WebsiteCardiff University Staff Profiles "Prof Mark Taubert"

Professor Mark Taubert FRCP FRCGP FLSW is a German-British consultant doctor and professor of medicine at Cardiff University. [1] [2] He is a palliative care physician in Wales, who according to the Western Mail [3] and Welsh Government website [4] has contributed significantly to the development of his specialty, and has received recognition as a doctor and campaigner, nationally and internationally.

Contents

He wrote to the late David Bowie in January 2016 about a conversation he held with a dying patient, a letter that was shared across the world. [5] [6] [7] [8]

He is founder of TalkCPR, an international information campaign about cardiopulmonary resuscitation and do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions . He is national chair of the Advance & Future Care Strategy Group for the NHS Wales Executive.

Media work

He has authored articles on medical topics and palliative care in international newspapers such as the Washington Post [9] and the Guardian. [10] [11] Taubert founded Talk CPR, [12] [13] an international information campaign that discusses do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions, also known by the acronym DNACPR. His explanatory Talk CPR resources have been viewed over a million times worldwide, [14] and he has been interviewed and spoken about the topic on BBC News at Six and BBC News at 10.

Taubert has delivered a TEDx talk on the use of language in palliative care. [15] He has also featured on two palliative care themed recordings for the UK's BBC Listening Project in 2019 [16] and 2020 [17] and on BBC Horizon's 'We need to talk about Death' with Kevin Fong. [18]

Awards

He has won national and international awards for his teaching and clinical work, including a Bafta award as part of a care team featured in an ITV documentary. [19] He received the prestigious national BMJ/BMA Clinical Teacher of the year award, [20] [21] the Best Trainer Award Wales 2016 [22] and the Royal College of Physicians Excellence in Patient Care Award. [23]

In 2014, he was elected to become a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. [24]

Open letter to David Bowie

In 2016, he published a thank you letter to David Bowie after the singer's death, with reference to Bowie's last album, Blackstar. [25] [26] The letter was initially published in the British Medical Journal [27] [28] and then the Independent Newspaper [29] and was shared by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones. [30] It went viral online and in worldwide newsrooms. [31] [32] [33] It was subsequently read out by actor Benedict Cumberbatch [34] and singer Jarvis Cocker [35] at public events. The letter addresses issues such as palliative care and planning for the end of life. Bowie's story became a way to communicate important aspects of dying with a palliative care patient. [36] [37]

The letter was turned into a classical music string quartet composition for BBC Radio 3, featuring Taubert reading the letter. [38] [36] It toured, premiering at the Royal Northern College of Music [39] and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. According to the Herald Newspaper Scotland it 'sound tracked a reading of an open letter to David Bowie by palliative care doctor Mark Taubert, which has been a celebrated part of the marking of the passing of the rock star, played here on the fourth anniversary of his death.' [40]

The open letter has also been printed in several books, including Dylan Jones' David Bowie- A Life [41] and Letters of Note - Music [42] by Shaun Usher, part of the Letters Live event brand, where the letter was read out twice.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiac arrest</span> Sudden failure of heart beat

Cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly circulate around the body and the blood flow to the brain and other organs is decreased. When the brain does not receive enough blood, this can cause a person to lose consciousness and brain cells can start to die due to lack of oxygen. Coma and persistent vegetative state may result from cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is also identified by a lack of central pulses and abnormal or absent breathing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiopulmonary resuscitation</span> Emergency procedure after sudden cardiac arrest

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation, or mouth to mouth in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest. It is recommended for those who are unresponsive with no breathing or abnormal breathing, for example, agonal respirations.

Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two criteria necessary to sustain the lives of human beings and of many other organisms. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest. The term is also sometimes used in resuscitation research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced cardiac life support</span> Emergency medical care

Advanced cardiac life support, advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) refers to a set of clinical guidelines established by the American Heart Association (AHA) for the urgent and emergent treatment of life-threatening cardiovascular conditions that will cause or have caused cardiac arrest, using advanced medical procedures, medications, and techniques. ACLS expands on Basic Life Support (BLS) by adding recommendations on additional medication and advanced procedure use to the CPR guidelines that are fundamental and efficacious in BLS. ACLS is practiced by advanced medical providers including physicians, some nurses and paramedics; these providers are usually required to hold certifications in ACLS care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do not resuscitate</span> Legal order saying not to perform CPR if heart stops

A do-not-resuscitate order (DNR), also known as Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR), Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR), no code or allow natural death, is a medical order, written or oral depending on the jurisdiction, indicating that a person should not receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if that person's heart stops beating. Sometimes these decisions and the relevant documents also encompass decisions around other critical or life-prolonging medical interventions. The legal status and processes surrounding DNR orders vary in different polities. Most commonly, the order is placed by a physician based on a combination of medical judgement and patient involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life support</span> In medicine

Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic and advanced life support procedures; however, basic life support is sometimes provided at the scene of an emergency by family members or bystanders before emergency services arrive. In the case of cardiac injuries, cardiopulmonary resuscitation is initiated by bystanders or family members 25% of the time. Basic life support techniques, such as performing CPR on a victim of cardiac arrest, can double or even triple that patient's chance of survival. Other types of basic life support include relief from choking, staunching of bleeding by direct compression and elevation above the heart, first aid, and the use of an automated external defibrillator.

Dead on arrival (DOA), also dead in the field, brought in dead (BID), or dead right there (DRT) are terms which indicate that a patient was found to be already clinically dead upon the arrival of professional medical assistance, often in the form of first responders such as emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, or police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanatology</span> Scientific study of death and its aspects

Thanatology is the scientific study of death and the losses brought about as a result. It investigates the mechanisms and forensic aspects of death, such as bodily changes that accompany death and the postmortem period, as well as wider psychological and social aspects related to death. It is primarily an interdisciplinary study offered as a course of study at numerous colleges and universities.

Precordial thump is a medical procedure used in the treatment of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia under certain conditions. The procedure has a very low success rate, but may be used in those with witnessed, monitored onset of one of the "shockable" cardiac rhythms if a defibrillator is not immediately available. It should not delay cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, nor should it be used in those with unwitnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Lazarus syndrome, also known as autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is the spontaneous return of a normal cardiac rhythm after failed attempts at resuscitation. It is also used to refer to the spontaneous return of cardiac activity after the patient has been pronounced dead. Its occurrence has been noted in medical literature at least 38 times since 1982. It takes its name from Lazarus who, according to the New Testament, was raised from the dead by Jesus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hospice</span> Type of health care for the terminally ill

Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering. Hospice care provides an alternative to therapies focused on life-prolonging measures that may be arduous, likely to cause more symptoms, or are not aligned with a person's goals.

Anna Elisabeth Johansson Bågenholm is a Swedish radiologist from Vänersborg, who survived after a skiing accident in 1999 left her trapped under a layer of ice for 80 minutes in freezing water. During this time she experienced extreme hypothermia and her body temperature decreased to 13.7 °C (56.7 °F), one of the lowest survived body temperatures ever recorded in a human with accidental hypothermia. Bågenholm was able to find an air pocket under the ice, but experienced circulatory arrest after 40 minutes in the water.

GoodSAM is a global emergency and volunteer service platform and associated community co-founded by Mark Wilson OBE, Ali Ghorbangholi OBE and Ali Haddad in 2013. It is used by ambulance, police, fire, government, charity and health services to improve immediate emergency management, largely through video enabling Instant-On-Scene video assessment and from the platform's ability to alert trusted responders to provide immediate help. It is also the platform used to deploy nearly 800,000 NHS Volunteers across the UK to support those isolating or suffering with Covid

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackstar (song)</span> 2015 song by David Bowie

"Blackstar" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie. It was released as the lead single from his twenty-sixth and final studio album of the same name on 19 November 2015. "Blackstar" peaked at number 61 on the UK Singles Chart, number 70 on the French Singles Chart and number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Blackstar" received both the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song and the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards. At 9:57, it was the longest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 charts, overtaking Harry Chapin's "A Better Place to Be", until Tool broke the record in 2019 with "Fear Inoculum".

<i>Blackstar</i> (album) 2016 studio album by David Bowie

Blackstar is the 26th and final studio album by the English musician David Bowie. Released on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday, the album was recorded in secret in New York City with his longtime co-producer Tony Visconti and a group of local jazz musicians: Donny McCaslin, Jason Lindner, Tim Lefebvre and Mark Guiliana. The album contains re-recorded versions of two songs, "Sue " and "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", both of which were originally released in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of David Bowie</span> Death of David Bowie in January 2016

On 10 January 2016, the English musician David Bowie died at his Lafayette Street home in New York City, having been diagnosed with liver cancer 18 months earlier. He died two days after the release of his twenty-sixth and final studio album, Blackstar, which coincided with his 69th birthday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velindre Cancer Centre</span> Cancer care facility in Cardiff, Wales

The Velindre Cancer Centre is a specialist facility offering inpatient and outpatient care for cancer patients in Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales.

ReSPECT stands for Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment. It is an emergency care and treatment plan (ECTP) used in parts of the United Kingdom, in which personalized recommendations for future emergency clinical care and treatment are created through discussion between health care professionals and a person. These recommendations are then documented on a ReSPECT form.

The Colours is a 2019 play written by Harriet Madeley and directed by Max Barton. It is a verbatim play about end of life care in a Welsh hospice. Amongst the performers for its first staging in the West End of London was the actress Morfydd Clark. The play was created using recorded conversations with patients, doctors and nurses at Velindre Cancer Centre and Ty Olwen Hospice in Wales, and actors revoiced the recordings verbatim on stage. All the characters in the play are created from interviews with real people.

References

  1. ↑ "Prof. Mark Taubert Cardiff University School of Medicine Staff Profile". Cardiff University School of Medicine Staff Profile Page. 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  2. ↑ Taubert, Mark (2020-05-31). "Coronavirus: Helping the bereaved with emotional PPE". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  3. ↑ Smith, Mark (8 October 2018). "'I felt as if I had come to my homeland'- the doctors from overseas who are vital to Wales' National Health Service". Western Mail. p. 28.
  4. ↑ Government, Wales (9 March 2023). "Dr Mark Taubert".
  5. ↑ Vincent, Alice (18 January 2016). "'Thank you for Blackstar': Palliative care doctor writes open letter to David Bowie". The Telegraph Newspaper.
  6. ↑ Leopold, Todd (2016-01-08). "David Bowie's son shares powerful letter". CNN. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Bowie's son shares thank you from palliative care doctor". New Zealand Herald. 18 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Duncan Jones, il figlio di Bowie, rompe il silenzio con una toccante lettera". Rolling Stone Magazine Italy. 18 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Taubert, Mark (11 January 2019). "What's the last song you want to hear before you die?". The Washington Post.
  10. ↑ Taubert, Mark (3 February 2016). "This is not Casualty- In real life, CPR is brutal and usually fails". The Guardian Newspaper.
  11. ↑ Taubert, Mark (19 June 2023). "I thought I should always be positive with my patients – until I found out how damaging that can be". The Guardian Newspaper.
  12. ↑ Taubert, Mark; Norris, James; Edwards, Sioned; Snow, Veronica; Finlay, Ilora Gillian (December 2018). "Talk CPR - a technology project to improve communication in do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions in palliative illness". BMC Palliative Care. 17 (1): 118. doi: 10.1186/s12904-018-0370-9 . PMC   6195698 . PMID   30340632.
  13. ↑ "Creating a sustainable, prudent & vibrant NHS- The TalkCPR project". Western Mail. 2016-12-05. pp. 57–58. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  14. ↑ Hughes, Mary (2022-10-02). "Palliative care in the 'Kingdom in the sky': Lesotho". European Association for Palliative Care. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  15. ↑ "Why Language Matters When You Know You Are Dying". TEDx. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Glover, Fi (2019-11-08). "The Listening Project- Mark and Faye, Trainer and Trainee". BBC Radio 4 - The Listening Project. BBC. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  17. ↑ Glover, Fi (2020-03-08). "BBC Radio 4 Listening Project- Sunday Edition: Mark and Darren - Strangers in conversation". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  18. ↑ Hogan, Michael (23 January 2019). "Horizon: We need to talk about Death Review: Would better palliative care help us to die happier?". Telegraph Newspaper.
  19. ↑ "ITV - Velindre, Hospital of Hope". 2018-04-11.
  20. ↑ "Leading Clinical teachers awarded for their work". Western Mail. 2017-04-10. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  21. ↑ "Velindre Doctor Wins Clinical Teaching Award". Glamorgan Gem. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  22. ↑ Smith, Mark (2017-04-10). "Awards recognise our talented clinical teachers". Echo Newspaper. p. 25. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  23. ↑ "The last thing you want to talk about? CPR in palliative illness - EPCA Awards 2019". Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "Prestigious fellowship for four Velindre colleagues". Velindre University NHS Trust. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  25. ↑ "Un ejemplo para los cuidados paliativos". El Mundo Newspaper. January 2016. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  26. ↑ Best, Chloe (2016). "David Bowie's son returns to Twitter to share moving thank you letter from doctor". Hello Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  27. ↑ Taubert, Mark (2016). "Thank You Letter to David Bowie from a Palliative Care Doctor". BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. 6 (4): 500–501. doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2016-001242. PMID   27760747. S2CID   2881997 – via British Medical Journal.
  28. ↑ McDermott, Maeve (19 January 2016). "David Bowie's son reveals poignant letter from doctor". USA Today.
  29. ↑ Taubert, Mark (22 January 2016). "David Bowie: NHS care doctor publishes tribute to the Starman". Independent Newspaper.
  30. ↑ Powell, Emma (18 January 2016). "David Bowie's son breaks silence to post touching letter from doctor to his late father". Evening Standard.
  31. ↑ "David Bowie helped lift taboo on death". BBC News. 2016. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  32. ↑ Andrea, Park (18 January 2016). "Duncan Jones shares doctor's letter to David Bowie". CBS News.
  33. ↑ "David Bowie's son returns to Twitter". Times of India. 17 January 2016.
  34. ↑ "Benedict Cumberbatch read out a Welsh doctor's letter about dying". WalesOnline. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  35. ↑ "Watch Jarvis Cocker read a letter to David Bowie about end-of-life-care". Telegraph. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  36. 1 2 Rogers, Jude (2020-01-22). "Cremate me to the sound of Disco Inferno". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  37. ↑ Vincent, Alice (2016-01-18). ""Thank you for Blackstar"- Palliative Care doctor writes open letter to Bowie". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  38. ↑ Uren, John (11 April 2017). "BBC Radio 3' Hear & Now- Kammerklang: John Uren's 'Her Own Dying Moments' - a thank you letter to David Bowie from palliative care doctor Mark Taubert".
  39. ↑ "Decontamination #7 – Boulez/Bowie". Royal Northern College of Music Concerts. 2016-11-01.
  40. ↑ Bruce, Keith (12 January 2020). "Music: Aurea Quartet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow". The Herald Scotland Newspaper.
  41. ↑ Jones, Dylan (2017). David Bowie - A Life. Crown Archetype. pp. 498–501. ISBN   978-0451497833.
  42. ↑ Usher, Shaun (2020). Letters of Note Music. Canongate. pp. 18–25. ISBN   9781786895592.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.