Terry Garr, Peter Boyle and Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein (1974)
Laughing in the Face of Death: Movies, Medicine and Mortality is a continuing education presentation for social workers and medical professionals. Gail Rubin, CT, will present this one-hour talk at the New Mexico Conference on Aging on Wednesday, August 24 at 12:15 p.m. The two-day conference takes place at Isleta Resort & Casino, 11000 Broadway SE, Albuquerque, NM.
In hospitals, medical professionals, patients and families focus on maintaining life and returning to health. Despite great advances in medical care, humans still have a 100% mortality rate. Using funny films and television programs, we’ll examine hospital personnel reactions to mortality and offer ways to relieve the pressure of working around death.
After attending this presentation, participants will be able to:
- Discuss the Terror Management Theory and its impact on humans’ ability or willingness to discuss mortality issues in a medical setting.
- Support co-workers, patients and their families facing death in a hospital setting.
- Recognize ways medical professionals achieve emotional distancing from death in patient care and treatment.
Gail Rubin speaking at TEDxABQ
Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist, is a death educator who uses humor and funny films to teach about end-of-life topics. An award-winning speaker, she “knocked ’em dead” at TEDxABQ in 2015. The author of A GOOD GOODBYE: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die and HAIL AND FAREWELL: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips, her next book is KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die.