Developing the therapeutic capacity required of compassionate caregiving and holistic healing interventions requires contemplative educational strategies grounded in self care.
The purpose of these programs is to :
- nurture a community of nurses and nurse educators who practice mindfulness based / contemplative self-care practices for their personal wellbeing and
- Support implementation of mindfulness based / contemplative educational practices in academic curricula and staff development programs.
Each workshop follows a similar structure approximately 10 minutes of content/ research review; 20 minutes of self-care practice/ exercise(s) and 45 minutes for discussion and dialogue about your self-care progress. Resource handouts will be provided.
The focus of this program is personal self-renewal for nurses and nurse educators. This session is largely experiential and focused on community building. After a brief review of key concepts including stress, wellbeing, therapeutic capacity and contemplative education participants will have the opportunity to practice a meditation designed to help them reconnect with the healing potential of self-awareness and self-care. Group discussion will center on major shared concerns as educators, personal and educational strategies that have been successful to integrating self-care in daily life and suggestions for future workshop topics of interest. Please plan to attend—reconnect and recommit to your personal self-care and offer your suggestions to enhance contemplative education in our colleges and institutions.
Intentional use of the imagination is a powerful tool that supports self-development, teaching and learning and healing practices in the clinical setting. This seminar is designed for nurses and nurse educators to incorporate guided imagery into their own self-care. Tools for use of intentional imagery in the clinical setting/educational environment will also be covered.
The psycho-physiology of guided imagery and current evidence of effectiveness to promote well-being, reduce stress, enhance learning and manage life change is presented. Attendees will be able to practice use of simple guided imagery scripts and discuss ways to incorporate use of simple exercises in their practice/classroom. Specific resources will be provided.
Caregiver well-being is a critical issue in our current healthcare structures. The purpose of this two hour program is for educators to share their thoughts about how to nurture the development of a caring consciousness in students and integrate self-care into nursing curricula. Current research on self-care, caregiver stress and well-being and use of mindfulness based teaching strategies that support development of caring consciousness is briefly summarized. Participants will be provided with specific tools for use in the classroom and have the opportunity to begin development of their own self-care plan.
Development of Self-Care in Student Nurses: A Critical Issue for Nurse Educators – Follow up Group Sharing
This session is designed for participants to share progress, insights and bumps in their personal self-care journey. Time will also be used to share stories of teaching strategies, educational successes and insights that have been learned. Group participation will support the community of educators committed to development of holistic nurses capable of integrated practice and development of healing environments. Please plan to attend!