Why Rounds & Rants Exists

Welcome to Rounds & Rants, a space born from years of learners saying, “You should write this down,” and me saying, “Sure, right after I finish curing laziness.” Spoiler: laziness won. Until now.

I’m Kyle: palliative care doc, educator, and professional overthinker. My world? The liminal space where life and death strip people down to their most real selves. It’s not for the weak, the humorless, or the intellectually lazy. And it’s definitely not just about nice feelings, puppies, and saying what everyone wants to hear.

Here’s the truth:

• Not everyone can do what specialist palliative care does. It’s a super-specialist discipline, not a vibe.
• Communication isn’t a black box. Anyone can get better—but it takes practice, coaching, and humility.
• Serious illness care is riddled with inertial myths. “Comfort care means doing nothing.” “Families can’t handle the truth.” “We’ve always done it this way.” Spoiler: none of that is evidence-based.

This newsletter exists to bust those myths, share the soapboxes I stand on daily, and explore why the theory of death anxiety explains so much of what’s wonky in medicine. Expect posts on:

• Kyle’s Soapboxes: The hills I die on.
• Medical Myth Busting: Because “we’ve always done it this way” is not evidence.
• Things I Wish Everyone Knew: About medicine, communication, and the evidence-based search for meaning.
• Cheat Codes: Maternalism and specialist palliative care.
• Palliative Teamwork: The power (and occasional chaos) of interprofessional teams.
• Patented Theories of Everything: Does Death Anxiety Theory describe all that's wonky with medicine?

If you’re looking for sterile CME modules, you’re in the wrong place. If you want evidence-driven insights, humor, and the occasional rant that makes you rethink how we care for people when it matters most, welcome aboard.

Subscribe, share, and let’s make this fun. Because medicine is serious—but we don’t have to be self-serious about it.