Perioperative Services

Caring Science Session

Carole Weller, RN

Introductions

Thank the participants for coming and introduce yourself

Ask each participant to introduce themselves, telling where they work and one thing about

themselves that they feel no one knows.

Purpose“Today we want to explore our current understanding about caring and its relationship to self, co-workers,

patients, and our community. We will learn a few new skills to deal with our stress and techniques to better

connect with one another and our patients.”

Goal

At the end of one hour we hope to•Feel more relaxed

•Better appreciate our needs, especially in the workplace

•Better understand how we relate to others

•Learn one HeartMath technique for dealing with stress

•Understand the difference between merely hearing and authentically listening

Ponder this

What does it mean to care?

Ponder this…

How does it look when your day goes well?

(Leave time for thought and interject adlib)

Ponder this…Do you look for opportunities

for people to help you, or do you look for ways to help

other people?

Ponder this…Do you see the world for what it is, or for what it could be?

Ponder this…

Is who we are keeping us from being who we

could be?

A CenteringMoment

Lead the group in an exercise of centering. Close eyes, take slow deep breaths, focus

on your heart, and bring in a positive emotion or memory. (60 seconds)

HeartMath

• What is HeartMath?

• How is it relevant to me?

• How does it effect others?

Authentic Listening“Empathy is the ability to take into consideration the other person’s perspective. Being consciously empathetic is to be “authentically present”. To be authentically present is to demonstrate no judgment.”

•We don’t judge

•We don’t bring preconceived ideas to the conversation

•We do listen without interruption, giving our full attention

•We listen with an open heart

Compare to our normal communication!

Authentic ListeningExercise

Pair off:• One person speaks for 3 min, the other listens• The listener summarizes for 1 min and tells what they heard the other say.• Switch rolls

Debrief• How do you feel?• Have you gained greater understanding about

yourself? About others?• What did you learn that you can incorporate into your

practice?• Can you share your experience today with at least

one other person?

Feedback“I realized that I can do more for my co-workers.”“I would like to see all my staff come to this session. It is most definitely worthwhile.”“I see things in a different way now. Thanks for opening my eyes.”“ I could relate so much to what was said today and I loved making the connection with my partner.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect. You could feel the room change as the hour went on.”“Please keep doing these sessions. So many people need this and don’t even know it.”

Quote“So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself.”

Florence Nightingale