Washington University School of Medicine Oral Histories
Stacy Remke Oral History
Interviewer
Bryan Sisk MD, MSCI
Files
Download Interview Transcript [PDF] (116 KB)
Summary
Stacy Remke was interviewed by Brian Sisk on December 10, 2019 for approximately 55 minutes for the Pediatric Palliative Care Oral History Project.
Scope and Content
Ms. Stacy Remke begins the interview by describing her initial career path in social work around aging and how she came to develop her interest in care planning for pediatric end of life needs. Ms. Remke then describes her observation that both providers and parents would not have meaningful discussions about the realities and practicalities of children who were seriously ill or dying. She also noticed that providers were resistant to utilizing hospice services for seriously ill pediatric patients and that they expressed sentiments like ‘you’ll take care of my patients over my dead body.’
Ms. Remke then describes the early practices of communication and miscommunication around pediatric end of life. She also describes branding and attracting physician interest in her agency’s pediatric hospice programing as a constant task the agency struggled with initially. Ms. Remke recalls some of the successes and challenges of the early years she was working with her small multidisciplinary team, including defining how social work could work to compliment nurses and other providers.
Ms. Remke concludes the interview by describing her goal to see more children and families with the full spectrum of supportive care that they need. She also describes one of her favorite contributions to pediatric palliative care being her model of multidisciplinary health care planning, now the preferred model in palliative care programs. Finally, Ms. Remke suggests that the field could benefit from equally compensating services and increasing access to professional development resources for disciplines that provide a holistic experience, such as social work, chaplaincy, and child life specialists.
Biographical Information: Interviewee
Stacy Remke, LICSW, is Senior Clinical Teaching Lecturer and pediatric palliative care social worker who has aided the development of palliative care best practices for over 40 years. In her career, Ms. Remke has had an international presence in developing pediatric palliative programming models. Additionally, she has contributed to developing educational and academic texts on children’s psycho-social pain experience, children’s medical fragility, palliative home care, interdisciplinary team models, and secondary provider trauma.
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
2019-12-10
Collection Identifier
OH154-S29
Length
Approximately 55 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
Stacy Remke Oral History, OH154-S29, 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).