Tag Archives: leadership

Faith Community, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Is it Possible for Doctors to Provide Compassionate Care?

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The Physician’s Oath promises to approach all patients with integrity, candor, empathy, and respect.  I believe that most doctors take their oath seriously.  I believe most doctors study very hard because they truly want to help other people and make a positive difference in the field of medicine.  Doctors have a tremendous responsibility in today’s messy healthcare environment.  They work long hours, have many patients and deal with lots of complications to ultimately deliver the care that their patients need.  So, is it really possible for doctors to provide compassionate care?

I will speak only from a patient and patient advocate perspective, after having been a caregiver to my aging parents for many years.  Most doctors want to listen to their patients and get to know them beyond their medical conditions.  I really believe that.  I think most doctors would agree that the complexities of healthcare take away from the time they would like to spend with their patients and families so that they can be a source of compassion and guidance.

For doctors to provide compassionate care, they must have time.  Unfortunately,  this is rarely a luxury, if at all.  Treating patients medical needs is first and foremost when it comes down to it.  Having the time to converse and get to know their patients is almost unheard of these days.  So how can doctors provide compassionate care when the odds are stacked against them in so many ways.

In dementia training, we teach the importance of eye-to-eye contact,  slowing down, speaking with respect to another person, gently holding one’s hand to provide comfort among other simple gestures. These are signs of compassionate care that take no more time than the alternative.  Sometimes a smile or caring concern is all it takes to quickly make another person feel like they are important to another person – even if it’s brief.

Doctors are fixers, and it’s natural in their hurried days to be focused on fixing what’s wrong.  And no doubt that is monumentally important.  As healers, though, a doctor can and should practice compassionate care even though the odds are often stacked against you.  Compassionate care can be taught, learned and passed on to others. It’s an emotional, spiritual and transformational gift that you give another person shown with the simplest of gestures.

Compassion can be felt by another just by the gift of your genuine presence.

Pam Brandon is President of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  She is the creator of the Dementia Live® Simulation and Awareness Program.  

Compassionate Touch®, Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals

Learn the The ABC of Compassionate Communication

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I’m delighted to share that our Australian Master Trainer, Sue Silcox has authored and published a book – The ABC of Compassionate Communication.  Sue is passionate about helping people become empowered through learning, practice, support, and self-care.

Brain Sparks and the ABC of Compassionate Communication is the result of her many years of working and playing with people of all ages, many of whom needed more compassion in their lives as well as an empathetic ear.

In the ABC of Compassionate Communication you will learn:

  • How we can use our brain to increase empathy
  • Where we can connect with other people and groups
  • When friendships matter
  • What laughter has to do with compassion
  • Why people react the way they do

We communicate every day.  Sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes in frighteningly revealing ways, mostly in different ways in between. Often we are misunderstood, or we interpret the messages incorrectly.  Becoming aware of how, through understanding, we can send and receive those message with compassion will make not only the lives of those we love and care for better but ours too.

Through this easy-to-read book, which uses the letters of the alphabet to describe steps to compassionate communication, you will receive twenty-six facets of compassionate and their relationship to improved communication compiled in a way that you will have not seen before.  Each facet gives you the chance to delve deeper with tips and ideas that you can try for yourself.

In the ABC of Compassionate Communication, Sue starts by asking our aware are you, firstly of your own self?  Self-awareness helps us find our strengths and allows us to work out where we need to improve.  Self-reflecting on situations can show us where we match up to our expectations and values.

Sue points out that working on your self-awareness brings benefits not only to you but to those around you.  Thinking about how you reacted with others brings awareness to your connections with others and ultimately makes you happier.

The book is full of compassionate communication tips that will serve anyone, especially those who care for persons living with dementia.  This book may be ordered through the Brain Sparks website.

Pam Brandon is President and Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and a passionate Advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  She is the Creator of Dementia Live® Sensitivity Awareness Program, helping caregivers worldwide to better understand and communicate with persons living with dementia.  

Sue Silcox is Australia’s AGE-u-cate® Lead Trainer and may be reached at Sue@brainsparks.com.au

 

Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals

Did Your Know that Practicing Gratitude Can Actually Improve Your Health and Well Being

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Don’t you enjoy being around people who are naturally grateful?  Can we cultivate an attitude of gratefulness ourselves?  Of course, we can!  Practicing gratitude not only is good for our souls but can improve our health and well- being.

Let’s look at some research:

  • A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, it was concluded that subjects who wrote down what they’re thankful for just before bed fell asleep faster and stayed asleep longer.
  • A University of Utah study showed that gratefulness is linked with optimism, and optimism has been linked to a better and stronger immune system.
  • A 1995 study in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that appreciation and positive emotions may be beneficial in the treatment of hypertension and in reducing the likelihood of sudden death in patients with congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease.
  • A 2003 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that gratitude can boost pro-social behaviors, such as helping and lending emotional support to others, while a series of experiments detailed in the same journal concluded that a daily practice of listing all the things for which you are thankful is linked with a brighter outlook on life and a greater sense of positivity.

Like other good habits, practicing gratitude can be learned – at any age!  Here are a few suggestions for fostering gratitude in your life.

  • Keep a gratitude journal where you write down specifically what you are thankful for.  You’ll be amazed at how long your list becomes with a regular habit of journal writing.
  • Take a break a few times a day to focus on a spirit of thankfulness.  It might be a moment of meditation, prayer or walk in the garden.  Just slowing down for a moment to think about the things in your life that you are thankful for will become a habit of practicing gratitude.
  • Surround yourself with thankful people!  This may sound simple, but gratitude is contagious and being around people who are practicing gratitude will naturally be a mood lifter.
  • Share with others what you are thankful for.  It will not only help you in practicing gratitude but will also reinforce your feelings and inspire others.

Like any habit, gratitude gets easier with daily practice.  Let today be the first day of your healthy, grateful life!

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  Please let me know if you this is helpful!

Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Careers in Aging – Proactive Approaches to the Looming Crisis

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March 3 -7 is Careers in Aging Week and an appropriate time to talk about the importance of this topic.  No longer are the shortages of direct care staff and others in long term care a subject of the future.  The crisis is looming and it is serious.

The number of Americans 65 and older is projected to grow to 98 million by 2060, more than double the number we had in 2016.  According to the Population Reference Bureau, between 2020 – 2030, the number of older adults in America will grow by 18 million as the youngest baby boomers hit 65.

Like me, the baby boomers that are marching forward are asking ourselves, “Who will take care of me?”  While families have and will be forced to take on the caregiving tasks for their loved ones, it simply is not the answer or reality for many Americans.   Boomers and GenXers are working,  families are not geographically close enough to take on the role of primary caregivers, the numbers of widows and widowers are growing and many elderly are childless.

According to Government statisticians, home care is one of the nation’s fastest-growing occupations, with an additional million workers needed by 2026!  That is an increase of 50% from 2014.

Without pouring through any more statistics,  growing careers in aging is no longer an option – it must become a priority that starts with our government leaders and is embraced by stakeholders across the spectrum.  It is not a US-only challenge – it is a worldwide crisis that must be addressed sooner rather than later.

Work in long term care, especially direct care workforce has long been associated with low wages, often inconsistent work schedules, limited company benefits, and poor training.  The economic boom has pulled workers from long term care into retail, restaurants, hospitality and other similar businesses that are paying higher wages.  It’s been a catch-22 but the fact that the shortages are colliding with an unprecedented demand is especially frightening.

Without pouring through any more statistics,  growing careers in aging must be a priority that starts with our government leaders and is embraced by stakeholders across the spectrum.  It is not a US-only challenge – it is a worldwide crisis that must be addressed sooner rather than later.  Unfortunately, advocacy and lobbying take many years, of which we simply do not have time to wait.

What are the solutions?   There are not any easy ones, but perhaps looking at what we can do locally to turn the tide is going to result in positive outcomes.  We see our partner providers taking our Dementia Live® training to nursing schools, high school students and even out into communities who are embracing Age-Friendly and Dementia Friendly initiatives.  Raising awareness of the growing elderly population and their needs is huge.  Intergeneration programs among schools and churches and the elderly are setting an early example with children that respecting and taking care of our older adults is our duty.

Building awareness is a grass-roots effort and home-grown.  It means take creative efforts to work with others that include public entities, community-based organizations, political leaders and the private sector.  It means elevating the professional standards for those who choose careers in aging.   Careers in Aging is a field that is extremely rewarding.  We can do a better job of conveying this to our younger generation, and even an older generation who is looking to keep working and giving back.   What better way is there to give back than to serve others.

I’d like to hear what you are doing to bring awareness and educate others in your community!

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  You may reach out to Pam at pam@ageucate.com.