Working in the ICU last month taught me a lot of things. Yes, all providers need more training in end of life discussions.

But we also need to unlearn the ableism that influences our goals of care and quality of life discussions.

I recall attending an ethical debate regarding end of life discussion and "quality of life." Outcome was that each case is different, and that it's a largely subjective topic.

But is it, really?

The dialogue quickly got heated as people had their own definition of "quality of life."

But noticeably, nobody had a visible disability (from what I saw and what was discussed). Everyone, including myself, debated about the quality of life from a purely ableist point of view.

It's almost always able bodied doctors - who have the ability to stand, round for hours, etc - who lead the discussions regarding whose life is worth saving, and whose life is not.

Pretty clear which group of people benefit from this, and which group is left behind.