Never underestimate gentle passion
I will admit that I have been glued to the 2016 election. For the past 18 months I have tuned in to the news, read articles, followed key people on Twitter, and watched all debates in their entirety. I was investing in this process to educate myself to make informed decisions on candidates and issues.
I took advantage of early voting! I was especially proud to see a busload from our University show up at early voting!
What a relief! It is over – it is over. Votes have been cast and a decision has been made. But wait! I’m not sure that these results are what I was expecting!?! What do I do now?
My email was filled with thoughts, suggestions, and resources:
The OSU Lantern had an article about student views. The OSU student view Mixed reviews from students with different perspectives.
A strategic planning blog offered great perspective: Brainzooming and perspective
Ken Yeager – OSU Distinguished Professor of Compassionate Care where Ken shares ways to process this information through perspective, dialogue and personal commitment; and Choice by Joseph Grenny & David Maxfield from VitalSmarts who share perspective about personal accountability in decision making.
Flip the paradigm! How can I – a Registered Nurse – make a difference in a different political climate than the last 8 years? Knowing that there are many people that want change and may need my RN knowledge, skills and abilities to help them transition.
Serendipity! Today was the presentation by Meghan Underhill, PhD, RN, AOCNS, Opportunities for Excellence: Promoting Oncology Nursing Scholarship and Evidence Based Practice. She listed out the following about being a member of the team:
- Show up
- Do the work
- Tell your story
- Respect the team
- Gain trust
With gentle passion, Dr. Underhill described everything that we do everyday as nurses and healthcare team members in a Relationship-Based Care philosophy! Staying true to who we are each and everyday can make the difference for those that need our care. As a MH CNS here at The James, I would be delighted to dialogue with anyone about our world.
Much like Ken Yeager describes, the world is not coming to an end. We each have the power to be part of the team that will move us forward as an institution, a community, and a country.
Let’s do this!
For several years, before I came to OSU, I worked for a transformational leader and nurse, Earl Dalton, who really inspired me. He always did something that I think might be nice for us to consider doing, especially after the election. When Earl walked through the halls of the hospital or into an elevator or down the street, he said “Hello” or “Good Morning” to everyone. Especially to people who did not look up at him or who seemed angry, frustrated or depressed. And he never expected anything back. It was just his little gift. He told me “so many people are suffering or distracted…saying hello makes such a big difference”. I would love to tell you that he learned this while living in the same lovely southern city where I spend two decades but I don’t think so, I think it was just him.
Ever since Earl and I spoke about this, I have tried it. I continue to work on it, especially in the hallways and elevators of the James. If you really look at our visitors and patients, you know they have a lot on their mind…but so do the people who care for them. It is fun, in a way to say hello and see what types of responses you get. I challenge my colleagues to try it, especially after the election, when tensions are high but we still have to face the challenge of caring for people who are fighting for their lives. Care for each other, say hello!
Lynne Brophy
Loved Dr. Underhill’s presentation! I agree that she has a “gentle passion” for the oncology population. I also appreciated her patient and family centered philosophy and feel that she echoes the values we have at The James. Her energy towards her research topic was palpable.
In regards to Lynne’s comments, I also try to say hello to everyone in the hallway of elevator. It makes a big different in your attitude and almost always brings about a few smiles!
In reading this post it occurred to me that I had to be of two minds. One mind being my personal experience and the other mind my role as a member/reviewer of this blog. This allowed me to separate the subjective from the objective (or at least try). My first thoughts were: “Is this post appropriate for this forum? Will it offend or alienate people? Should we discuss an issue like this?” I wasn’t really sure. I agreed with parts, disagreed in others. In processing this I drew conclusions and made assumptions. Instead of firing off a hasty reply, I thought maybe I should ask Amy. “What was your motivation? What are you really trying to say? Is this what you meant? “
I am happy to say Nurse Rettig and I had a cordial conversation. We clarified, we corrected, we disagreed, we agreed. We threw out suggestions, ideas, and solutions. The conversation could have heated up at one time but we did not let opinions or emotions shut down the dialogue. We came to the conclusion that I would write a response, a comment to her blog post to express concerns. Ironically in the process of reviewing a blog post about the election we were able to have a constructive conversation and continue it online. The discourse remained gentle yet passionate, kind but honest and most of all curious. In this curious space we were able to understand one another more fully and authentically and in turn remain co-workers and friends.