Washington University School of Medicine Oral Histories
Marcia Levetown Oral History
Interviewer
Bryan Sisk MD, MSCI
Files
Download Interview Transcript [PDF] (133 KB)
Summary
Marcia Levetown was interviewed by Brian Sisk on April 17, 2019 for approximately 52 minutes for the Pediatric Palliative Care Oral History Project.
Scope and Content
As an intensivist, Dr. Levetown noted three things: 1. a large proportion of critically ill kids were actually “chronically dying.” 2. families’ information about their child’s condition was incomplete or inaccurate and, feeding unrealistic hopes and influencing decisions based on outcomes that “were really not on the table.” And 3. family units were often overwhelmed by the child’s illness, too often leaving the family unit in varying levels of social, physical, mental, and emotion ruin.
Dr. Levetown described her early experience with palliative care and hospice, her involvement with several research projects on reforming the culture of death at the academic level, the history of pediatric palliative care as a field and some of the early challenges implementing palliative care in a hospital setting. The profound gratitude of patients’ families whom she accompanied through the end of life was an important counterbalance to the experience of being shunned by colleagues, who had dubbed her “Doctor Death.”
Dr. Levetown identifies several persistent barriers to pediatric palliative care, including funding, professional acceptance, availability/capacity of clinicians, and burdens on patient-family, such as time, effort, transportation, and funds. Dr. Levetown then explains with her vision of expanding both physical and financial accessibility of pediatric palliative services, community integration of palliative services, and revitalizing explorations into the biopsychosocial life stages of children and adolescents that have life-limiting conditions.
Biographical Information: Interviewee
Marcia Levetown received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, her medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia and her masters of medical management from Carnegie Mellon University. She completed a residency in Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and went on to finish a fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the Children’s National Medical Center of George Washington University.
Dr. Levetown is currently Principal of Healthcare Communication Associates. She was honored with the designation of Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2009. Dr. Levetown has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, contributed to important national policies on ethics issues, palliative care and pediatrics as well as widely used curricula and is the co-editor of 2 books and the author of several palliative care textbook chapters. For 19 years, she was an ethics item writer for the American Board of Pediatrics. She is also active at the national, state and local levels, educating and advocating for improved palliative care. Her hobbies are traveling, photography and physical fitness.
Biographical Information: Interviewer
Bryan Sisk, MD, MSCI is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and an Assistant Professor in General Medical Sciences as a member of the Bioethics Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed medical school at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He completed his clinical training at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
Dr. Sisk was a clinical fellow in pediatric hematology and oncology when he initiated this Pediatric Palliative Care Oral History Project. As a trainee, Dr. Sisk had a strong interest in palliative care, the approach to the suffering of children, and the history of medicine. Prior to initiating this project, Dr. Sisk performed an in-depth review of the development of pediatric palliative care as a discipline and philosophy. This research culminated in a publication entitled, “Response to Suffering of the Seriously Ill Child: A History of Palliative Care for Children” in the journal Pediatrics. However, this historical review was limited to textbooks and publications. It lacked the personal experience of caring for these children and inspiring the development of a new clinical discipline. Inspired by David Clark’s oral history of the adult hospice movement, Dr. Sisk began to plan this pediatric oral history project.
Of note, this collection of oral histories is incomplete, and many important figures have not (yet) been interviewed. Dr. Sisk’s goal is to continue adding to this collection create a rich repository of personal insights and wisdom from leaders who changed the field of pediatrics.
Interview Date
2019-04-17
Collection Identifier
OH154-S21
Length
Approximately 52 minutes.
Restrictions
Users wishing to publish (in whole, or in part) content taken from the audio or transcript of this oral history interview must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Becker Archives. For detailed information regarding publication and use of this oral history, contact the Becker Archives (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Recommended Citation
Marcia Levetown Oral History, OH154-S21, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Disclaimer
The Becker Archives provides access to this oral history interview as a record of the past. This interview reflects the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of the interview participants, which may reflect outdated, biased, and offensive views and opinions. The Becker Archives does not endorse the views expressed in this interview, which may contain materials offensive to some users.
Notes
Access to the audio recording for this oral history may be obtained via approval of the archivists at Becker Library. Contact the archives for more information (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).