Legacy work in end of life care: A conversation with Jessica Bytautas

In this episode, Rima chats with Jessica Bytautas, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto and KITE, the research arm of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Jessica highlights her PhD research exploring the ways in which legacy activities support the relational nature of existential suffering and resist, reinforce, and revise prevailing norms regarding death and the goals of care at the end of life. She has a background in philosophy but was inspired to research this further after her first exposure with palliative care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center. During my conversation with Jessica, we deeply explored the purpose and impact of a legacy document, the surprising things she’s learned doing this work and how she interprets her interviews as a qualitative researcher. Jessica is also very passionate about teaching and discusses the opportunity of being a course instructor. In the future Jessica wants to bring more attention to end-of-life care not only for patients in hospitals but also for people who are socially and economically marginalized. Tune in to get to know Jessica and hear the details of her unique insight, passion and scientific journey thus far!

UHN Trainee Podcast: Seeds of Science is proudly supported by the UHN Office of Research Trainees. For more information on the podcast and interviewees, visit our webpage: https://uhntrainees.ca/trainee/seeds-of-science-podcast/