Kindness, Curiosity and Comfortable Shoes

Send us a text

Death

It's going to happen to all of us at some point.
As healthcare workers we need to be comfortable thinking about, talking about and managing dying patients and their death.

A key useful phrase to think of is "Sick enough to die" to help acknowledge a potential outcome of a patient. I first heard this from Kathryn Mannix, a palliative care consultant in the UK who has written a fascinating book "With the end in mind".

For clinicians I would also highly recommend the Resus Room podcast on End of Life care, featuring a discussion with Ed Presswood, a palliative care consultant:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-resus-room/id1090433226?i=1000628346236

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Debrief

My definition is to question someone or a group in detail about the work they have done and think about the rationale behind the work and what we can learn. The dictionary definition is questioning someone (typically a soldier or spy) about a completed mission.

Debriefs can be hot, cold or personal and I cover all three types in this podcast.

iSWIPE is a useful tool:
i - Introductions
S - Summary
W - What went well
I - Improvements
P - Points to take away
E - Equipment issues

Underlying this, it's important to think about people's emotions, describing an aspect of an incident in detail, analysing it to improve by applying lessons learned and summarising learning points.

A useful article from Life in the Fast Lane:
https://litfl.com/clinical-debriefing/

And an interesting article about the benefits of expressive writing:
Baikie KA, Wilhelm K. Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. Cambridge University Press; 2005;11(5):338–46

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Life

Sometimes life gets in the way of things you want to do, so this is not a normal episode.

Please get in touch to help support the podcast and get involved.
Social Media: @JMACeducation
Email: [email protected]
Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jmaceducation

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Resolution

Definition - A firm decision to do or to not do something

In early January, how many people have made a resolution, and how many people have not kept it a week later??

This episode covers resolutions or work objectives and how to use SMART to help clarify your thoughts about them and increase the chance of you sticking to your resolutions.

SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound

First described in 1981:
Doran, G.T. (1981) There's a SMART Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives. Journal of Management Review, 70, 35-36.

Useful summary wiki article:
http://wiki.doing-projects.org/index.php/SMART_Goals_(Specific,_Measurable,_Attainable,_Relevant,_Time-bound)

And for interest, a slam poet on resolutions:
https://www.tiktok.com/@harrybakerpoet/video/7319465175092890913 

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Compilation Episode 3

This is a bonus longer episode; a compilation of episodes 11-16 of the podcast so you can listen to them back-to-back.

3:06 Episode 11 - Connection

We are all bound by the connection of treating patients and working in healthcare. Why do we forget that at times? And how can we improve that connection.

9:50 Episode 12 - Mindfulness

Is mindfulness still a dirty word in your mind in healthcare?

This episode explores what I feel it means in real life and I look at practical mindfulness techniques that you can undertake anywhere at anytime in healthcare - however busy or distracted you might be.

20:27 Episode 13 - Reflection

Reflection is defined as serious thought or consideration. How often do you give episodes of work 'serious thought or consideration'?

Reflection can be used positively to enhance your work and improve your learning. In this episode I talk about how reflection can easily be added to your thoughts about work beyond being a forced written piece for your appraisal.

31:56 Episode 14 - Education

Two definitions of education: "The process of receiving or giving instruction" or "An enlightening experience". Some thoughts on that definition and what I feel are the key components to bear in mind as an educator: Engagement, Understanding and Remembering.

PS A slip of the tongue at 12:11 when I refer to Maslach's Hierachy of Needs ... I was conflating Maslach's Burnout Inventory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslach_Burnout_Inventory)and Maslow's Hierachy of Needs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs).

43:19 Episode 15 - Charity

This episode originally aired just before Christmas and that time of year always makes me think of charity and how lucky and privileged I am to have the life I have, and how so many people rely on charities for the basics of human life of warmth, food and education.

In this episode I explore the benefits to healthcare workers of working with, raising money for or donating to charities; reflecting a bit on my time with the Calendar Lads of Northumbria.

51:02 Episode 16 - Christmas

As healthcare professionals we know we are going to be working at some point over the Christmas and New Year period.

In this episode I reflect back on what Christmas has meant to me working clinically over the years.

I leave you with a link to a funny Christmas song which does contain some offensive lyrics, but I think it sums up nicely how to conduct yourself in this festive time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmoG4JY_T58

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Compilation Episode 2

This is a bonus longer episode; a compilation of the episodes 4-10 of the podcast so you can listen to them back-to-back.

1:54 Episode 4 - Sleep

We all need it and never get enough of it. This episode focuses on those intrusive thoughts about work as you are trying to get to sleep.

Easy to read articles about getting better sleep:
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/self-help-cbt-techniques/#articles
https://www.headspace.com/sleep/how-to-sleep-better

14:57 Episode 5 - Change

In this episode I talk about change in healthcare and why I think it is important to embrace it, and hopefully make it easier to cope with.

Research showing why we should get involved in changes in healthcare from Nilsen et al in BMC Health Services Research in 2020: https://rdcu.be/dmvgD

Article from Forbes magazine about how to cope with change in the workplace by Caroline Castrillon published in Feb 2020: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2020/02/26/how-to-cope-with-change-in-the-workplace/

24:43 Episode 6 - Complaints

As healthcare staff we will always have to respond and react to complaints in some form.

An example of a healthcare complaints analysis tool from the London School of Economics, published in BMJ Quality and Safety Journal in 2015: https://healthcarecomplaintsanalysis.com/

And an article about how to handle complaints from Practice Builders in 2019: https://www.practicebuilders.com/blog/8-ways-to-handle-patient-complaints-and-defuse-their-frustrations/

39:06 Episode 7 - Joy

Joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Should we ever feel this in healthcare?

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has this web page with lots of thoughts on joy at work.

https://www.ihi.org/Topics/Joy-In-Work/Pages/default.aspx

49:34 Episode 8 - Feedback

Constructive feedback will help us work better in healthcare and help us understand our blindspot. It's good to be curious about feedback and what others think to help us grow. If you are giving feedback to others, do this with kindness.

57:36 Episode 9 - Legacy

What is your legacy at work?

A great article about role-modelling in connection to fostering children but very relevant to healthcare by Marilyn Price-Mitchell:
https://www.rootsofaction.com/role-model/#

1:07:31 Episode 10 - Nights

And more specifically night shifts.
Most workers in healthcare will work shifts through the night at some point. In this episode I go through a few helpful points and tips to help you survive a night shift.

A nice summary of top tips from the Association of Anaesthetists:
https://anaesthetists.org/Home/Wellbeing-support/Fatigue/Tips-for-night-shifts

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Episode 16 - Christmas

As healthcare professionals we know we are going to be working at some point over the Christmas and New Year period.

In this episode I reflect back on what Christmas has meant to me working clinically over the years.

I leave you with a link to a funny Christmas song which does contain some offensive lyrics, but I think it sums up nicely how to conduct yourself in this festive time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmoG4JY_T58

Season's greetings etc

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Episode 15 - Charity

This time of year always makes me think of charity and how lucky and privileged I am to have the life I have, and how so many people rely on charities for the basics of human life of warmth, food and education.

In this episode I explore the benefits to healthcare workers of working with, raising money for or donating to charities; reflecting a bit on my time with the Calendar Lads of Northumbria.

What are you going to do for your favourite charities this Christmas time?

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Episode 14 - Education

Two definitions of education: "The process of receiving or giving instruction" or "An enlightening experience". Some thoughts on that definition and what I feel are the key components to bear in mind as an educator: Engagement, Understanding and Remembering.

This episode is a couple of days late as I was at the Developing Excellence in Medical Educators Conference: https://www.demec.org.uk/
and the rest of the podcast is some thoughts inspired by this conference focussing on how we can improve ourselves as educators.

PS A slip of the tongue at 12:11 when I refer to Maslach's Hierachy of Needs ... I was conflating Maslach's Burnout Inventory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslach_Burnout_Inventory)and Maslow's Hierachy of Needs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs).

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation

Send us a text

Episode 13 - Reflection

Reflection is defined as serious thought or consideration. How often do you give episodes of work 'serious thought or consideration'?

Reflection can be used positively to enhance your work and improve your learning. In this episode I talk about how reflection can easily be added to your thoughts about work beyond being a forced written piece for your appraisal.

Kolb's learning cycle, a useful summary from Structural Learning:
https://www.structural-learning.com/post/kolbs-learning-cycle

Gibb's Reflective Cycle, a nice summary from the University of Edinburgh:
https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle

The simple framework for reflective practice of 'What?', 'So what?' and 'Now what?' was originally described by Professor Rolfe et al:
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the
helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Support the show

Thanks for listening,

James

@JMACeducation