The Call for Community, Art, and Artists in the Resistance Movement

February 10, 2017February 10, 2017 / Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN / 2 Comments

This week, members of the Nurse Manifest Team gathered together by the warmth of our computer screens for engaging video conference. We took the time to welcome some new members and talk about the future of the movement. I have to say for me, being with like minded #NurseResisters was so energizing (even though I have been suffering through a bout of the flu this week!) and also very comforting.

It’s important for #NurseResisters to remember we are not alone and to gather those around us during these challenging times: when change seems to be happening at a rapid pace, when social media pages are filled with what resisters might find to be concerning or bad governmental news, when there are 10 things you would like to take action on, but you can’t be on the phone all day….it can become easy to become discouraged, overwhelmed, or burned out. This is where truly being with a like minded community can lift your spirits and buoy your endurance.

And endurance is what we will need. I know right now it sometimes feel like a sprint…get out there and get things done now, get to this march, make your signs, write your emails and postcards, get on the phone….because the administration has been creating changes at a rapid pace, the media and social media have been bumping up our energy, and we feel drawn to create change now.

The thing is, this is not a sprint and it’s not a solo race…it’s more like a team based marathon or ultra-marathon, and it is going to take teams of like minded community members to both participate in and complete the race.

Individual Sprint

Versus

Team Marathon

We need to carry lights, march together through the dark night with our nightingale lamps, and strive toward unity. There is no clear finish line, and no medals for winners, second, and third place. There is a beautiful planet and population of people that need caring for and this endurance test is in part about not giving up that vision of a caring, compassionate, kind, peaceful, unified, and spirit filled world.

I suggest other #NurseResisters start gathering with your communities in real life or as we did last week, in real time via video or phone conferencing. Set aside thoughtful, meaningful time to be together, to discuss future actions, and also to just support one another, to laugh together, to share your stories. Communities can rejuvenate and recharge us, and they are a must for folks who plan to run the long race.

I also did want to share that part of our discussion last week focused on the use of humor, satire, parody, art, and music to support and gather people together. Saturday Night live is becoming a great example of the power of humor, parody, and satire to help us lighten our load, to help us rejuvenate, to connect us across time and space.

While there are many older political songs we can use (Carol King just re-released One Small Voice with free download!: https://soundcloud.com/user-844282824/one-small-voice), it remains imperative that we also create new art and new music that reflects our current siutation here, now in 2017. Until then, let’s be strong together:

“One small voice speaking out in honesty
Silenced, but not for long
One small voice speaking with the values
we were taught as children
Tell the truth
You can change the world
But you’d better be strong”

(Carole King/ copyright Rockingdale Records).

Call to Action for 2016 NurseManifest Study: Request for Co-Creators

April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 / Olga F. Jarrín / 11 Comments

a quote from The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

You are invited to comment, collaborate, and co-create a global NurseManifest research project, to be carried out later this year.

Previously in 2002 and 2003 we asked nurses what it was like to practice nursing, and what changes they envision to create the conditions for ideal practice, using emancipatory methods.

For 2016 I propose we explore the topic of excellence in nursing care, from the perspective of patients and caregivers, using Appreciative Inquiry.

With a blog readership of over 7,500 people, we now have the capacity to carry out the international study envisioned by the NurseManifest Project founders over a decade ago, and make a global impact through our collective action.

Some critical questions we might ask include:

What is like to be the recipient of excellent nursing care?
What specifically about your nursing care experience made it excellent?
How would healthcare be different if every nursing interaction was excellent?
What would it take to create a healthcare system where excellent nursing care is the norm?

Some opportunities to participate include:

Host a conversation group with patients and family members who have received care from a single health care organization or network of providers.
Host a conversation group with patients and family members who have received care related to a specific condition or life event.
Host a conversation with a community group, with co-workers, or even with your own family.

Some ideas for dissemination:

Present at national and international conferences in 2017
Develop a series of manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals
Turn the findings into a book
Use the findings to inform a public service campaign about nursing and policies impacting nurses

Please add your ideas in the comments section below this blog entry or write to Olga Jarrín at olga.jarrin@rutgers.edu by June 1, 2016 – in time to have a shared protocol and IRB approval in place for interviews and focus groups to begin in September, 2016.

For more information about Appreciative Inquiry see the website: Appreciative Inquiry Commons. Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management. April 18, 2016. *Note: This repository of information Includes Appreciative Inquiry resource materials in 22 languages. https://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu

Gun violence: A nursing concern?

October 6, 2015December 8, 2016 / Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN / 2 Comments

Once again we find ourselves reeling from a mass shooting, this time in a small community college in Oregon. One of the most disturbing reports of the Umpqua Community College incident was that the dead victims’ cell phones were ringing when police and rescue workers arrived on the scene, as their families and friends tried to make contact with them. The heartbreak for this community is palpable; for nursing educators, the concern of wondering if this could happen in our classrooms, in our schools, is unsettling. Some of us might recall the 2002 Arizona nursing faculty mass shooting, where 3 nursing professors were gunned down and killed by a student who had failed a pediatric class and decided that he had the shooting authority and was angry enough, I suppose, I don’t understand really, why.

What has changed since those 2002 shootings? If you scroll through your facebook feed today, it is likely you will find many postings about the statistics of mass shootings, thoughts about how nothing has changed, and debates over stricter gun control. Meanwhile, I feel that nursing should be viewing the gun violence issue as a public health issue, and we could be the ones helping to lead the way in preventing future mass shootings. We have a strong voice, as we recently proved with the “#Drsstethoscope ” and “#nursesunite ” movements; and now perhaps we could unite over some issues that deeply impact the health of all beings on this planet.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) has made clear statements that gun violence is preventable (https://www.apha.org/~/media/files/pdf/factsheets/gun_violence_prevention.ashx). APHA recognizes that gun violence is contagious and has become an epidemic in the United States. APHA recommends that we:

Use surveillance techniques to track- gun related deaths and injurious shootings.
Focus on identifying the many risk factors for gun violence.
Create, implement, and evaluate interventions that reduce these risk factors and support resilience for those who are suffering.
Institutionalize prevention strategies.

We also clearly need more research in this area; we need to examine what common sense gun policies might look like, what have other countries implemented; what worked for them, and what has not worked for them.

Nurses and educators can begin in their work places, looking at their own risks within the workplace, and working toward implementing prevention strategies and trainings around what to do should an issue of gun violence begin to emerge.

We need to also reach out to communities, particularly school settings, and develop and support education around gun safety, bullying, mental health issues, and how to ask for help. We need to have mental health services in place that can truly identify and properly intervene with those who are at risk for gun violence.

Nurses could also bond together, #nursesunite, and create a clear voice around stricter gun control. We could do our own research around what has worked in other countries and what that might look like here, and then bring these ideas forward to our lawmakers. At the very least, we could be calling for better access to mental health services for those in need, and early identification of those who might be at risk for perpetuating gun violence. Childhood traumas likely play a role in this issue as well, and supporting the creation of trauma informed schools should be a nursing advocacy issue.

We have power in our numbers; let’s put it to great use. #nursesunite