Tag Archives: stress reactions

One. Step. Beyond.

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Stories on the TV that speak of the mental health impacts of COVID-19/other issues nearly always end with words to the effect of, “And if this has raised any issues for you help is always available. Phone Lifeline on 13 11 14.”

In keeping with Mindframe media guidelines, it’s good that help-seeking information is included in these stories, but it doesn’t cater for the full spectrum of mental health problems.

Lifeline, for example, is a crisis support line, akin to lifesavers plucking people from the dangerous surf. It’s vital, but it’s not a “one size fits all” service (nor should we expect it to be).

Anyway, most of us would rather early intervention/prevention rather than crisis intervention. It’s better to learn how to swim than rely on someone saving you from drowning.

 

The Stepped Care Model of Mental Health

Self Portrait 26/04/20

The Stepped Care model aims to ensure that people have streamlined access to the right services for their needs over time, and as their needs change. There is more information about this available from more reputable sources than my blog, eg:  Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, Connect to Wellbeing, or your local public health network.

A short, amateurish, overview is this:

If you’re on the lowest (blue) step, you’re doing OK. Keep those healthy relationships and habits going.

If you’re on the second-lowest (green) step you probably should be more intentional about protecting your social and emotional wellbeing. Chat to people you love/trust, and see if any of the digital resources at Head To Health match where you’re at.

If you’re on the middle (yellow) step it’s definitely time to connect with someone. If you’re a Nurse or Midwife that could be NMSupport in the first instance,  if you’re in North Queensland you may consider contacting Connect to Wellbeing. Elsewhere you may need to google or go via healthdirect re equivalent services.

If you’re on the second-top (orange) step, don’t muck-about: make a double appointment to see your GP. S/he won’t necessarily reach straight for the prescription pad. The GP may discuss making a Mental Health Treatment Plan, which should include your goals  and – if you and your GP agree it’s worth a try – a referral to a specialist mental health professional.

If you’re on the top (red) step you will almost certainly want to make contact with your local mental health service. In Queensland phone 1300 64 2255 (1300 MH CALL). Outside of Queensland you should be able to track-down your local service via healthdirect.

One. Step. Beyond.

This blog post was inspired by chatting with hospital colleagues who were not familiar with the Stepped Care Model of Mental Health. Many thanks to these terrifically impressive people who are definitely NOT heroes: they’re just everyday compassionate, creative, funny, clever and skilled health professionals who – in a crisis – will go one step beyond to support the people who need it.

One last thing. If, like me, you have a foot one step beyond your usual step, perhaps the jaunty Madness (1979) song “One Step Beyond” will provide temporary distraction and cheer. 🙂

End

Thanks very much for visiting. As always your feedback is welcome in the comments section below.

Paul McNamara, 30 July 2020

Short URL meta4RN.com/step

An end of April #COVID19 snapshot (Queensland perspective)

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The chart below shows confirmed cases of #COVID19 as at 4.30pm (GMT/UTC + 10:00h) on Thursday 30/04/20. The chart sourced via www.covid19data.com.au

I’m not sharing this info as a macabre version of State of Origin or the Bledisloe Cup. It’s not a competition. It’s certainly not a game. Thousands of families across the world are in mourning.

Nevertheless, it is useful to have a benchmark of how we are faring. To give us perspective it’s useful to compare progress across areas/populations. As per the list below, Queensland’s population size compares better to New Zealand, Ireland, Norway and Singapore than other Australian states and territories.

Population Comparison (Australian states/territories + selected countries, small to large)
Northern Territory 245,000
Australian Capital Territory 428,000
Tasmania 535,000
South Australia 1.75 million
Western Australia 2.63 million
New Zealand 4.82 million
Ireland 4.94 million
Queensland 5.11 million
Norway 5.37 million
Singapore 5.85 million
Victoria 6.63 million
New South Wales 8.12 million

So What?

Hopefully, the encouraging data in this chart serves as an anxiolytic for Queensland health workers and their patients. That’s the intent.

End

That’s it. If you know an anxious Queenslander please share this information with them.

Paul McNamara, 1 May 2020

Short URL meta4RN.com/qld

Supporting Nurses’ Psychological and Mental Health

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An editorial by Jill Mabel and Jackie Bridges published on 22 April 2020 in Journal of Clinical Nursing explores the evidence regarding supporting nurses’ psychological and mental health during #COVID19.

Q: Why nurses?
A: Nurses are at the bedside 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In previous pandemics/epidemics nurses experienced more occupational stress and resultant distress when compared to other professions.

And – little known fact – even when there isn’t a pandemic to deal with, nurses are more prone to suicide than most employed people. The authors are in the UK, but it’s the same in Australia.

Although there are lessons to be learned from SARS, MERS and Ebola, overall the evidence for supporting nurses’ psychological and mental health wellbeing during a pandemic is not very strong.

That disclaimer out of the way, here comes my interpretation of the key points from the paper:

1. Keep Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Mind.
Starting at the base isn’t basic. It’s essential.
Start with
– hydration
– nutrition
– rest and recovery
– shelter from the storm

2. Safety is vital.
For #COVID19 that means that PPE is a non-negotiable need (don’t take my word for it, see Maslow’s hierarchy above).

3. Prioritise wellbeing.
Organisations that ask nurses to care for people who are #COVID19 suspected/positive should ensure that nurse wellbeing is a priority.
Q: How?
A: Insist on breaks, and – this often goes against the nursing culture/habits – make sure that nurses quarantine time for mutual support.
Q: Mutual support? What’chu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?
A: meta4RN.com/footy

4. Individual Support PRN.
Individual support should be available for nurses too.
Q: What sort of support?
A: It’s not one size fits all. It depends on what step you’re on.

Self Portrait 26/04/20

On the lower steps, support via trusted, loving family and friends might be all that’s required. That, and being intentional about self care.

5. Self-Care.
If you’re getting stressed on the boss’s time, you should try to get de-stressed on the boss’s time too. It doesn’t have to take hours, you might be able to make regular snack-sized self-care part of your everyday nursing practice.

6. Positive Practice Environment.
Good communication, a collegial multidisciplinary team, creative and collective problem-solving,and working as a team can go a long way towards dampening anxiety.
There’s more than one kind of PPE.
Aim for a Positive Practice Environment.

7. Time Out.
Embed safe places in the workplace. Something like a NOvid room would do the trick.

8. Supportive Senior Staff.
Last, but not least, senior nurses and other people in the hospital hierarchy should make themselves more available and visible than ever.
Care goes in. Crap comes out.

End

That’s the summary of the key messages I took from the Journal of Clinical Nursing editorial. Check it out yourself via doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15307

Many thanks to Jackie Bridges (one of the paper’s authors) for giving positive feedback regarding the original Twitter thread. This blog post is a replica of that thread, just with most typos corrected.

Thanks for reading. As always you’re welcome to leave feedback and/or add your own ideas in the comments section below.

Paul McNamara, 26 April 2020

Short URL: meta4RN.com/COVID19

Positive Practice Environment (the other PPE)

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At this point in time (the beginning of April 2020) PPE is popping-up in news and social media feeds frequently. Understandably, with the outbreak of the #COVID19 pandemic, clinicians are much more conscious of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) than usual. Even crusty old mental health nurses like me have revisited and refreshed our knowledge on PPE.

That’s sensible. It’s also sensible to acknowledge that there’s more than one type of PPE.

Positive Practice Environment (PPE)

Today some nurses who work on a ward receiving patients suspected/confirmed to have COVID-19 identified elements that are contributing to their ward working well. Although there’s still some anxiety, of course, generally it is a PPE (positive practice environment). Some of the things nursing staff identified were:

  1. Team Nursing. The RNs highlighted this as a part of the PPE. In a team you never feel like it’s your burden to bear alone, there’s someone to check with donning and doffing personal protective equipment, and there’s always someone to help if you’re in the isolation room and need something extra.
  2. Communication. Communciation within the nursing team, and between the nursing staff and senior medical staff is much better than usual. Regular meetings both formal and informal are really helpful.
  3. Working Smarter. For example: before entering an isolation room, call the patient on their bedside/mobile phone to see if they need anything extra. Similarly, making an arrangement with the patient that they can buzz or phone if they need anything. Increased use of phone = decreased frequency of entering isolation room = decreased use of personal protective equipment.
  4. Getting Smarter. Asking questions and brainstorming solutions. Everyone acknowledges that they aren’t experienced or experts in pandemics, and that collaborative care is the only way to problem-solve the way forward. Patients generate solutions too
  5. Staying Focused. There is so much information swirling about regarding COVID-19, that it is important to limit the sources and exposure. We need to trust the health department that employs us to give us the correct information at the correct time. We can’t afford the time or mental/emotional energy to look at everything that’s out there.
  6. Downtime is Sacred. When everything at work seems to have a COVID-19 twist to it, it’s important to shield against overload. Strategies include:
    • Don’t watch the news, watch a movie.
    • Be careful how much time we spend in the social media echo chamber.
    • Switch off social media and the TV and listen to music.
    • Ask friends and family not to use “the C word” around you.

Downtime is Sacred.

Three Final Thoughts

One
It’s not just about wearing PPE (as in personal protection equipment) it’s about creating a PPE (as in positive practice environment) too. Nobody pretends for a moment that there are not more and/or better ideas than those above, but being intentional about both lots of PPE is helping.

Two
What’s more contagious: COVID-19 or anxiety?

Three
I can’t believe that it’s been less than 2 months since the term “COVID-19” was first coined. It has infected nearly every news article and conversation since early February 2020.

End

That’s it. Thanks for reading.

As always your feedback is invited via the comments section below.

Paul McNamara, 1 April 2020

Short URL meta4RN.com/PPE

Clean Hands. Clear Head.

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Part 1. Clean Hands. Clear Head.

“Clean Hands. Clear Head.” is an animation of a mindfulness script that distills the content of my 2016 blog post “Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments” into a short (less than 2 minutes) video. The voice part was recorded on an iPhone at a hospital sink #authentic. The visuals were done on Prezi.

Here’s a link to the Prezi version of “Clean Hands. Clear Head.” prezi.com/jehramlhdkcm

Addit 29/03/20: to my surprise, some people want a text version. I won’t write out the whole thing (too long, a bit dull), but below are some key phrases:

This is my mindful moment.
The anxiety and tension will be washed away.
I will rub in the resilience and kindness that sustains me.
After 20 seconds or so I will pretend I’m TayTay, and shake it off. 🙂
I will smile, then will intentionally slow my breathing.
Me and my hands will be safe.

Feels free to use/modify PRN. I would be grateful for source attribution as “meta4RN.com/head”
Just in case it’s handy here is a PDF: CleanHandsClearHead
And here is a MS Word version: CleanHandsClearHead

Part 2. Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments. March 2020 version.

On a related topic, for the last few years I’ve facilitated many hour-long, interactive sessions called “Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments.” for my fellow nurses at the hospital where I work. As at March 2020, I’m not confident that we’ll have an opportunity to meet face-to-face as a group all that often, so I’ve tweaked the session, tried to cut-down on the rambling, and have switched from hour-long interactive, to 20 minutes of well-intentioned, a tad-amateurish, youtube video embedded below:


Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments. March 2020 version.
(video, 20 mins)

Here’s a link to the Prezi version of “Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments. March 2020 version”: prezi.com/xcejt9pgd0b3

Part 3. References & Resources.

I’m recycling and combining a lot of old ideas for the March 2020 version of  “Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments.” Self-plagiarism? Nah – it’s a groovy remix of some favourite old songs. Regular visitors to meta4RN.com may recognise the repetition, and be quite bored with me using the website as a place to store updated versions of old stuff. Sorry about that, but it’s just so damn convenient. 🙂

Here are the resources and references used in the presentation: (because I’m recycling old ideas this list is ridiculously self-referential).

Australian College of Mental Health Nurses [www.acmhn.org], Australian College of Nursing [www.acn.edu.au], and Australian College of Midwives [www.midwives.org.au] (2019) Joint Position Statement: Clinical Supervision for Nurses + Midwives. Released online April 2019, PDF available via each organisation’s website, and here: ClinicalSupervisionJointPositionStatement

Australian Government (24 March 2020) Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers
www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

Basic Life Support Procedure
https://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/607098/pro_basiclifesprt.pdf

Eales, Sandra. (2018). A focus on psychological safety helps teams thrive. InScope, No. 08., Summer 2018 edition, published by Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union on 13/12/18, pages 58-59. Eales2018

Emotional Aftershocks (the story of Fire Extinguisher Guy & Nursing Ring Theory) meta4RN.com/aftershocks

Employee Assistance Service (via Queensland Health intranet)
qheps.health.qld.gov.au/hr/staff-health-wellbeing/counselling-support

Employee Assistance Service (via Benestar – the company that CHHHS contracts out to)
benestar.com

Football, Nursing and Clinical Supervision (re validating protected time for reflection and skill rehearsal) meta4RN.com/footy

Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments (re insitu self-care strategies) meta4RN.com/hygiene

Lai. J, Ma. S, Wang. Y, et al. (23 March 2020) Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Network Open.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2763229

Lalochezia (getting sweary doesn’t necessarily mean getting abusive) meta4RN.com/lalochezia

Nurse & Midwife Support nmsupport.org.au  phone 1800 667 877
– we have specifically targeted 24/7 confidential support available

Nurses, Midwives, Medical Practitioners, Suicide and Stigma (re the alarming toll of those who undertake emotional labour) meta4RN.com/stigma

Nurturing the Nurturers (the Pit Head Baths and clinical supervision stories) meta4RN.com/nurturers

Queensland Health. (2009). Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services. PDF

Spector, P., Zhiqing, Z. & Che, X. (2014) Nurse exposure to physical and nonphysical violence, bullying, and sexual harassment: A quantitative review. International Journal of Nursing Studies. Vol 50(1), pp 72-84. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748913000357

That was bloody stressful! What’s next?
Web: meta4RN.com/bloody
QHEPS: https://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0038/555779/That-was-bloody-stressful.pdf

Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance (a reframing of reducing aggression) meta4RN.com/zero

Part 4. An update for the 2021 version

The updated Prezi is here:

There’s an update to the reference list too:

Chen, R., Sun, C., Chen, J.‐J., Jen, H.‐J., Kang, X.L., Kao, C.‐C. & Chou, K.‐R. (2020), A Large‐Scale Survey on Trauma, Burnout, and Posttraumatic Growth among Nurses during the COVID‐19 Pandemic. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. doi.org/10.1111/inm.12796

End

Thanks for visiting. Let’s join the kindness pandemic to offset some of the crap that goes with the COVID19 pandemic.

As always, your feedback is welcome in the comments section below.

Stay safe.

Paul McNamara, 25 March 2020, with an update on 8 December 2020

Short URL: meta4RN.com/head

Creative Commons Licence
Clean Hands. Clear Head. by Paul McNamara is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Self Care: Surviving emotionally taxing work environments

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The nature of nursing will mean that we are likely to be are exposed to a range of challenges. It’s not unusual for nurses to witness aggression, feel unsafe, have first-hand exposure to other people’s tragedies, and to deal with the physical and emotional outcomes of trauma. This emotionally taxing environment can be pretty stressful. It’s something we should talk about.

I’m often asked to talk about this sort of stuff at inservice education sessions. This page is a 2019 update to support those sessions.

Printed handouts are so last century.

“Self care: Surviving emotionally taxing work environments” is planned as an interactive session accompanied by visual cues to give the discussion a bit of structure. Consequently, the transcript/dialogue of the presentation can not be included here.  The visual presentation itself doesn’t use powerpoint slides. It uses the prettier (and free!) platform Prezi instead: prezi.com/skmu0lbnmkm5/first-thyself/#

I’m recycling and combining a lot of old ideas for the 2019 sessions. Self-plagiarism? Nah – it’s a groovy remix of some favourite old songs. Regular visitors to meta4RN.com may recognise the repetition, and be quite bored with me using the website as a place to store updated versions of old stuff. Sorry about that. I’ll pop-up a new and original post in coming days.

Here is the online presentation: Prezi

Here are the resources and references used in the presentation: (because I’m recycling old ideas this list is ridiculously self-referential).

Australian College of Mental Health Nurses [www.acmhn.org], Australian College of Nursing [www.acn.edu.au], and Australian College of Midwives [www.midwives.org.au] (2019) Joint Position Statement: Clinical Supervision for Nurses + Midwives. Released online April 2019, PDF available via each organisation’s website, and here: ClinicalSupervisionJointPositionStatement

Basic Life Support Procedure
https://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/607098/pro_basiclifesprt.pdf

Dymphna (re the patron saint of mental health nurses) meta4RN.com/amazing

Eales, Sandra. (2018). A focus on psychological safety helps teams thrive. InScope, No. 08., Summer 2018 edition, published by Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union on 13/12/18, pages 58-59. Eales2018

Emotional Aftershocks (the story of Fire Extinguisher Guy & Nursing Ring Theory) meta4RN.com/aftershocks

Employee Assistance Service (via Queensland Health intranet)
qheps.health.qld.gov.au/hr/staff-health-wellbeing/counselling-support

Football, Nursing and Clinical Supervision (re validating protected time for reflection and skill rehearsal) meta4RN.com/footy

Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments (re insitu self-care strategies) meta4RN.com/hygiene

Lalochezia (getting sweary doesn’t necessarily mean getting abusive) meta4RN.com/lalochezia

Nurse & Midwife Support nmsupport.org.au  phone 1800 667 877
– we have specifically targeted 24/7 confidential support available

Nurses, Midwives, Medical Practitioners, Suicide and Stigma (re the alarming toll of those who undertake emotional labour) meta4RN.com/stigma

Nurturing the Nurturers (the Pit Head Baths and clinical supervision stories) meta4RN.com/nurturers

Queensland Health. (2009). Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services. PDF

Spector, P., Zhiqing, Z. & Che, X. (2014) Nurse exposure to physical and nonphysical violence, bullying, and sexual harassment: A quantitative review. International Journal of Nursing Studies. Vol 50(1), pp 72-84. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748913000357

That was bloody stressful! What’s next?
Web: meta4RN.com/bloody
QHEPS: https://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0038/555779/That-was-bloody-stressful.pdf

Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance (a reframing of reducing aggression) meta4RN.com/zero

It’s OK if you forget everything about today’s talk, just don’t forget that there is 24 hour support available via 1800 667 877 or https://nmsupport.org.au

End

Please have a play with the pretty Prezi: http://prezi.com/0ysapc6z9aqg

Thanks for visiting. As always your comments are welcome.

Paul McNamara, 22 February 2019

Short URL: meta4RN.com/SelfCare

 

 

Clinical Care and Clinical Supervision

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On Monday 17th September 2018 I’ll be presenting to the Cairns & Hinterland HHS palliative care team regarding clinical care and clinical supervision. It is planned as an interactive session accompanied by visual cues to give the discussion a bit of structure. Consequently, the transcript/dialogue of the presentation can not be included here.  The visual presentation itself doesn’t use powerpoint slides. It uses the prettier (and free!) platform Prezi instead: http://prezi.com/gtsqjgs9zdby

This page serves as a one-stop directory to the online resources used to support the discussion, and as an easy way for me to find the presentation. 🙂

I’m recycling and combining a lot of old ideas for the session (there’s that self-plagiarist vs groovy remix of favourite old songs thing again), so this list below is ridiculously self-referential:

Care goes in. Crap goes out. Ian Miller @ The Nurse Path, 30 May 2017
thenursepath.blog/care-goes-in-crap-goes-out

Emotional Aftershocks (the story of Fire Extinguisher Guy & Nursing Ring Theory) meta4RN.com/aftershocks

First Thyself (the core source of info for the visual aspects of this presentation) meta4RN.com/thyself

Flowchart courtesy of Dr Alex Psirides (aka  on Twitter), ICU, Wellington, New Zealand, sourced here:

Football, Nursing and Clinical Supervision (re validating protected time for reflection and skill rehearsal) meta4RN.com/footy

Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments (re insitu self-care strategies) meta4RN.com/hygiene

Joseph Heller quote from Catch-22 (1961):
“People knew a lot more about dying inside the hospital, and made a much neater, more orderly job of it. They couldn’t dominate Death inside the hospital, but they certainly made her behave. They had taught her manners. They couldn’t keep death out, but while she was in she had to act like a lady.”

Living Close to the Water (re #dyingtoknowday and emotional intelligence) meta4RN.com/water 

Nurses, Midwives, Medical Practitioners, Suicide and Stigma (re the alarming toll of those who undertake emotional labour) meta4RN.com/stigma

Nurturing the Nurturers (the Pit Head Baths and clinical supervision stories) meta4RN.com/nurturers

Sample Clinical Supervision Agreement (no need to reinvent the wheel – start with a wheel that works and tailor it to your needs) meta4RN.com/sample

Woody Allen quote from Without Feathers (1975)
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”

End

That’s it. Please feel free to play with the pretty prezi: prezi.com/gtsqjgs9zdby

Also, as always, please feel free to leave comments in the section below.

Thanks for visiting.

Paul McNamara, 2nd September 2018

Short URL: meta4RN.com/care

 

#WeNurses Twitter Chat re Communication and Compassion

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On 21st December 2012 (Cairns time) nurses from the United Kingdom and Australia came together on Twitter using the #WeNurses hashtag. The planned Twitter chat was used to discuss issues raised by the much-publicised death of a nursing colleague – Jacintha Saldanha.

This curated version of the Twitter chat demonstrates nurses using social media in a constructive manner, and responding to the issues surrounding Jacintha’s passing with thoughtfulness and grace. This was in sharp contrast to the shrill, insensitive and ill-informed way the matter was discussed elsewhere on social media and in mainstream media in the UK and Australia.

I’ve used sub-headings in red to structure the chat as per the themes that emerged.

WordCloud created from the full transcript of the #WeNurses Twitter chat

Preliminary Information.
1.

2.

Introductions.
3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Setting The Tone.
14.

15.

16.

Communication and Confidentiality.
17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

Mobile Phones.
38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

Social Media.
54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

Individualising Communication & Confidentiality.
60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

WiFi for Hospital Patients.
70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

80.

81.

Compassion.
82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

Prank Call.
92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

99.

100.

Targeted Crisis Support.
101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

Clinical Supervision (aka Peer Supervision, aka Guided Reflective Practice).
107.

108.

109.

110.

111.

112.

113.

114.

115.

Supportive Workplaces.
116.

117.

118.

119.

120.

121.

122.

123.

124.

125.

126.

127.

128.

129.

130.

131.

132.

133.

134.

135.

Preventative/Early-Intervention Resources.
136.

137.

138.

139.

140.

The 6Cs (Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage & Commitment).
141.

142.

143.

144.

145.

146.

Integrating Defusing Emotions into Clinical Practice.
147.

148.

149.

150.

151.

152.

153.

154.

Finishing-Up: Key Learnings.
155.

156.

157.

158.

159.

160.

161.

162.

163.

164.

Closing Remarks.
165.

166.

167.

168.

169.

170.

171.

172.

Farewells.
173.

174.

175.

176.

177.

178.

179.

180.

Explanation

These Tweets were initially compiled using a social media aggregation tool called Storify
storify.com/meta4RN/communication-and-compassion

Unfortunately, Storify is shutting-down on 16 May 2018 and all content will be deleted.

I’m using my blog as a place to mimic/save the Storify pages I created and value.

End Notes

This archive of Tweets relate directly to two blog posts I wrote at the time. If you’re interested in elaboration re the context at the time, please visit these pages:
Questions of Compassion meta4RN.com/questions-of-compassion
WeNurses: Communication and Compassion meta4RN.com/WeNurses

As always, please use the comments section below for any feedback/questions.

Paul McNamara, 3rd April 2018

Short URL: meta4RN.com/Chat

First Thyself

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First Thyself – Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments

On 28th April 2017 I’ll be presenting a session at the Ausmed “Breaking Point: Ice & Methamphetamine Conference” in Cairns. More info about the conference here: https://www.ausmed.com.au/course/ice-methamphetamine#overview

The nature of nursing will mean that we are likely to be are exposed to a range of challenges.

Feeling unsafe, witnessing violence, tragedy and dealing with trauma are some examples.

This emotionally taxing environment can result in tension with colleagues, family and friends.

This session will begin day two of the conference by creating an opportunity to discuss the following:

What are the professional implications of working in challenging areas of nursing and healthcare?

How can we maintain unconditional positive regard?

Why self-care matters and how to practice what we preach!

What’s all this then?

“First Thyself” is planned as an interactive session accompanied by visual cues to give the discussion a bit of structure. Consequently, the transcript/dialogue of the presentation can not be included here.  The visual presentation itself doesn’t use powerpoint slides. It uses the prettier (and free!) platform Prezi instead: prezi.com/skmu0lbnmkm5/first-thyself/#

This page serves as a one-stop directory to the online resources used to support the discussion.

I’m recycling and combining a lot of old ideas for the session (there’s that self-plagiarist vs groovy remix of favourite old songs thing again).

Here is the online presentation: Prezi

Here are the resources and references used in the presentation:

Emotional Aftershocks (the story of Fire Extinguisher Guy & Nursing Ring Theory) meta4RN.com/aftershocks

Football, Nursing and Clinical Supervision (re validating protected time for reflection and skill rehearsal) meta4RN.com/footy

Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments (re insitu self-care strategies) meta4RN.com/hygiene

Lalochezia (getting sweary doesn’t necessarily mean getting abusive) meta4RN.com/lalochezia

Nurse & Midwife Support nmsupport.org.au  phone 1800 667 877
– we have specifically targeted 24/7 confidential support available

Nurses, Midwives, Medical Practitioners, Suicide and Stigma (re the alarming toll of those who undertake emotional labour) meta4RN.com/stigma

Nurturing the Nurturers (the Pit Head Baths and clinical supervision stories) meta4RN.com/nurturers

Spector, P., Zhiqing, Z. & Che, X. (2014) Nurse exposure to physical and nonphysical violence, bullying, and sexual harassment: A quantitative review. International Journal of Nursing Studies. Vol 50(1), pp 72-84. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748913000357

Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance (a reframing of reducing aggression) meta4RN.com/zero

It’s OK if you forget everything about today’s talk, just don’t forget that there is 24 hour support available via 1800 667 877 or https://nmsupport.org.au

End

Please have a play with the pretty Prezi prezi.com/skmu0lbnmkm5/first-thyself/#

Thanks for visiting. As always your comments are welcome.

Paul McNamara, 30 March 2017

Short URL: meta4RN.com/thyself

 

 

Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments

6 Replies

Nurses and other health professionals are expected to attend to hand hygiene about eleventy seven times a day. The WHO and HHA recommend 5 moments for hand hygiene: before touching a patient, before clean/aseptic procedures, after body fluid exposure/risk, after touching a patient, and after touching patient surroundings. 57.4% of Australia’s nurses/midwives are hospital/ward-based [source], they’re doing A LOT of hand hygiene. 

On top of that, while they’re going about their business and busyness, ward-based nurses are interrupted 10 times an hour [source]. Yep, every 6 minutes there’s something or somebody distracting us from our tasks and thoughts. Dangerously disorderly much? Hopefully that doesn’t happen to neurosurgeons, commercial airline pilots, tattoo artists or Batman.
Especially Batman. 

batman

Pro-Tip: most of us can not do this at work. Only respond to distractions with face-slapping if you are Batman.

So, here’s the idea: if you’re going to do hand hygiene dozens of times a day anyway, don’t just do it for your patients: do it for yourself too. We’re not cold callous reptilian clinicians, we’re educated warm-blooded mammals who do emotional labour. We need to nurture ourselves if we are to safely continue to nurture others.

poster1

5 moments for hand hygiene & head hygiene!

Turn the 5 moments of hand hygiene into mindful moments. Make the 5 moments for hand hygiene 5 moments for head hygiene too. Yes, clean hands save lives – let’s not forget that clear heads save lives too!

Come up with a process/script that works for you, maybe something a bit like this: 

Mindful Moment (The 30-Second Handrub Version) 

  1. Step towards the pump bottle with intent. This is my mindful moment. I’m taking a brief break. 
  2. Squirt enough to squish. 
  3. The rub is slippery at first. Frictionless fingers feel fine.
  4. Feel the product texture and temperature. The rub is cooler than the air. The rub is cooler than my fingers. It feels nice. 
  5. Start with cleaning. The first half of my hand hygiene routine is about rubbing stuff off. Let the stuff I want to get rid of float away. 
  6. Move on to restoration, healing. The second half of my hand hygiene routine is about rubbing in resilience and health. Let the stuff that sustains me seep into my skin. 
  7. Check in on the breathing. The slower and deeper the better. If the breathing or the brain are running too fast, slow down and repeat steps 5 and 6. 
  8. There’s no rush. Slowly scan the surroundings. With any luck someone from infection control is watching. 
  9. Smile.
  10. Breathing slowly, its time let the air rinse off the residue. 
  11. One more slow breath. Its time to get back to work. 

Mindful Minute (The 60-Second Handwash Version)

  1. Step towards the sink with intent. This is my mindful minute. I’m taking a brief break. 
  2. Let the water flow.
  3. Feel the water flowing over both hands. The water’s warmer than the air. The water’s warmer than my fingers. It feels nice. 
  4. Add soap. It’s slippery. Frictionless fingers feel fine.
  5. Start with cleaning. The first half of your hand hygiene routine is about washing stuff away. Let the stuff you need to get rid of flow down the drain. Let it flow away. 
  6. Move on to restoration, healing. The second half of my hand hygiene routine is about rubbing in resilience and health. Let the stuff that sustains me seep into my skin. 
  7. Check in on the breathing. The slower and deeper the better. If the breathing or the brain are running too fast, slow down and repeat steps 5 and 6. 
  8. There’s no rush. Slowly scan the surroundings. With any luck someone from infection control is watching. 
  9. Smile.
  10. Breathing slowly, its time rinse both hands. 
  11. Breathing slowly, its time to thoroughly dry both hands together. 
  12. Throw the towel in the bin.
  13. One more slow breath. Its time to get back to work. 
poster2

Clean hands save lives. Clear heads save lives too!

Acknowledgements & Context

This is not my original idea. I first stumbled across the idea of combining hand hygiene with head hygiene via Ian Miller‘s November 2013 blog post “mindfulness during handwashing”: http://thenursepath.com/2013/11/18/mindfulnurse-day-8/. I’ve been using the idea myself and suggesting it to colleagues and students ever since. When I left the clinical environment for a few months, I found myself really missing intentionally punctuating my day with mindful moments. Since returning to clinical practice I’ve come to appreciate the strategy even more than I did when I first started using it 3 years ago.

So why am I blogging about it too? Why now? Well, on Monday I attended the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control 2016 conference to chat about Twitter [link to that presentation here. Also, check-out the #ACIPC16 hashtag here and here]. Luckily I was there for the opening plenary sessions, and was pleasantly surprised at the emotional/psychological literacy that was being displayed and advocated for. The opening presentations by Peter Collignon, Mary Dixon Woods and Didier Pittet all went to some lengths to emphasise the importance of emotional intelligence, constructive communication and building relationships. It was really impressive stuff; giving the hand hygiene and mindful moments idea a remix is my way to give recognition/thanks to the #ACIPC16 conference delegates and organisers.

How to win friends and influence people: https://twitter.com/emrsa15/status/800495292642508801

How to win friends and influence people: https://twitter.com/emrsa15/status/800495292642508801

Just so you know, a quick google search reveals that others have also thought of using hand hygiene as a mindful moment, eg this paper:

Gilmartin, Heather. (2016) Use hand cleaning to prompt mindfulness in clinic: A regular prompt for reflection could reduce distraction. BMJ 2016; 352 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i13 (Published 04 January 2016)

and this video:

There are others too. Do you think using hand hygiene as a mindful moment could become mainstream?

5mindfulmoments

End

That’s it. As always your comments are welcome via the space below.

May you hands be clean and your head be clear! 🙂 

Paul McNamara, 26 November 2016

Short URL: meta4RN.com/hygiene