I have so many links to share with you. Here are a few of them:

Australian critical care doctor and blogger Andy W writes about death and taxes and asks, “…why is it that we seem to spend so much time talking about the taxes, and not nearly enough about death?” Thought-provoking stuff. “The Things That Are Certain“, The Flying PhD

“Death isn’t failure. But avoiding these conversations is.” UK Palliative Care Physician Katherine Sleeman shares her story in this beautiful piece, “While medicine gets better, dying gets worse: Doctors are so good at saving lives that we forget about death.” (The Independent UK)

For those starting out in research: What is an H-index and how is it calculated? I’m tempted to formulate my own E-index (or maybe P-index, for Palliverse) based on re-tweets and Instagram food photo likes. (The Conversation)

Presenting your research results at a conference? I like these tips for captivating presentations. My favourite? “Make your font size double the average age of your audience. “ (“Gates, Gladwell, Cain, and More: 17 Presentation Secrets from Superb TED Talks”, Inc.)

“The storytelling is really where medicine is…” The Division of General Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital has appointed a writer-in-residence. (“The Healing Power of Story”, Harvard Medical School News)

The Age reports on a study recently published in JAGS, led by Monash University Geriatrician Professor Joseph Ibrahim, about preventable deaths in Victorian nursing homes. (“Victorian nursing home deaths preventable: study”, The Age)

“[IBM super-computer] Watson processed nearly 700 pages of medical records and images for a cancer patient at Memorial Sloane Kettering and, within seconds, recommended a drug treatment drawn from a two week old article in an Israeli medical journal — an article the physicians might never have heard about.” Wow. (“Mathematics is the new science of medicine”, KevinMD.com)

From the US: A health executive’s perspective changes when her mother becomes a patient in the health care system she championed. (“The Fall: Aligning the Best Care With Standards of Care At the End of Life”, Health Affairs)

There are some great authors “down under” for the Auckland and Sydney Writers Festivals, including Atul Gawande of Being Mortal fame, and mortician Caitlin Doughty (check out her YouTube channel, Ask A Mortician, above).

“Mortician, crematorium operator and author Caitlin Doughty on how to have a good death” (Sydney Morning Herald)

“Q&A leaves politicians and celebrities aside to ponder deeper questions in our digital age” (Sydney Morning Herald)

“Ask a Mortician: Funeral director Caitlin Doughty on mission to change attitudes about death” (ABC)

“Rethink how you confront death urges Harvard professor” (video and transcript of interview with Atul Gawande on ABC’s 730)

“Sexist” peer review causes storm online. (Times Higher Education)

A report from the British Psychological Society’s symposium on end-of-life care. There is a palliative care consultant/Member of Parliament called “Professor Baroness Finlay of Llandaff”. That is all. (“A discourse around death“, The Psychologist…)

Please use the comments to share your thoughts on any of these reads, and any other recommendations for Palliverse-flavoured weekend reading.