All guides
Family decisions · JourneyWell field guide
How to Prepare for a Family Meeting With the Medical Team
Use limited meeting time well and leave with shared understanding and next steps.
General educational information · Updated September 2026
The real challenge
Without preparation, meetings can become a flood of updates, unresolved conflict, and questions remembered only afterward.
What may be happening
- Different family members may have different facts.
- The team may not know the family’s central concern.
- Emotion can consume the time needed for decisions and planning.
What families can do now
- Choose one spokesperson and one note-taker.
- Agree on the top three questions before the meeting.
- Write a one-sentence description of what matters most to the patient.
- End by repeating back decisions, responsibilities, and the next check-in.
Questions to bring to clinicians
- What is the best-case, worst-case, and most likely path from here?
- What decisions are needed now, and who is responsible?
- How does the plan support the patient’s stated goals?
When JourneyWell support can help
JourneyWell can prepare the family, organize the agenda, and debrief afterward; medical recommendations come from the clinical team.