Ariel Dempsey

Project Partner: Ariel Dempsey
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Ariel Dempsey
DPhil in Science & Religion Candidate, University of Oxford
MD, Michigan State College of Human Medicine

Dr Ariel Dempsey earned her MD at Michigan State University and is at University of Oxford completing a DPhil in Science & Religion under Alister McGrath. She researches William James' pragmatism as a tool for acting in uncertainty in end-of-life care. She helps design and teach a Medical Humanities Curriculum for Oxford Medical School and is a Rotary Global Grant Scholar leading trauma healing groups. Ariel plans to do residency in psychiatry with fellowship in palliative care. She aspires to become a physician walking alongside those at end-of-life, and an academic theologian drawing on religious traditions to reflect on healthcare.

Location

Based in

United Kingdom

Working in

United Kingdom

Areas of interest in VBP

Research/Philosophy,Research/Theology, Meetings/ASS (Advanced Studies Seminar), Publications.

Related areas of interest

Medical Humanities/Theology/Philosophy, Evidence-Based Practice, Decision Theory, Communication Skills, William James, Psychiatry, Palliative Care, Trauma Healing.

 

Publications

Dempsey, Ariel, and Mulder, John - Quality Versus Quantity of Life: Beyond the Dichotomy. Palliative Medicine Reports 4.1 (2023): 17-23.


Dempsey, Ariel, and Mulder, John - Quality Versus Quantity of Life: Beyond the Dichotomy. Palliative Medicine Reports 4.1 (2023): 17-23.

A restrictive and dichotomous question has become the primary approach in many goals of care discussions. Is the primary goal of care quantity of life through aggressive therapy or quality of life through comfort care and hospice? Even though many health care providers recognize that quality vs quantity of life (QvQ) is a false dichotomy, in practice QvQ underlies many goals of care discussions and can negatively impact patient care.


Read More

My TEDxTalk  (includes aerial dance performance): 


https://www.ted.com/talks/ariel_dempsey_live_like_you_re_dying_acting_in_uncertainty?language=en


UK Palliative Care Congress 2023 plenary address: Living with Uncertainty in End-of-Life Care


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHiG2v0lzVk&t=4s&ab_channel=AlexTheDigitalNomad