Compassion Fatigue Solutions

I am going to Ottawa and Edmonton in the coming week. Ottawa to present to the Ontario Harm Reduction Conference (helpers who work with clients who have addictions, usually to hard drugs such as heroin, and who oversee needle exchange programs etc) and Edmonton to a large group of prison psychologists from the Prairie region. I am very much looking forward to these few days of training and learning. I don't know if they will learn anything from me, but I always learn something new at these events and really enjoy meeting helpers from varied backgrounds and hearing about their self care strategies and what they find rewarding about their particular work.

Before heading out, I wanted to share with you another very interesting resource that just came across my desk. The Centre for Practitioner Renewal, a pilot project based at St Paul's hospital in Vancouver.



That's their logo. They have a very attractive website too: www.practitionerrenewal.ca

Sadly, I only found out that the director of this centre, Dr Kuhl was presenting in Kingston once the day was done. I did have the opportunity to meet a colleague of his in Vancouver last year and they are doing fascinating cutting-edge work. I wonder if other hospitals would be able and willing to follow suit and put money into this Occupational Health and Safety issue?

Here is their mission and vision, in their own words:

"Mission: Focused on the health care community, we strive to: enhance well-being, inspire vocational satisfaction, and revitalize compassion and mutual support
understand and address how to sustain health care providers in the workplace
explore the cost of being in the presence of suffering. We do this through high quality service, education and research.

Vision: We are a vibrant, interdisciplinary centre that serves as a model for collaboration, service and compassion.

We are a revitalizing force, helping to sustain the well-being of people who work in the health care community and fostering compassion, mutual affirmation, interdisciplinary respect and vocational esteem.

We are an innovative provider of appropriate and relevant services that enhance psychological and spiritual well-being and strengthen relationships among care teams and practitioners.

We conduct research that drives the development of evidence-based tools and practices that are designed to enhance vocational satisfaction and compassionate service, and to provide measurable outcomes.

We are a leading advocate for understanding the rewards and costs of caring for the suffering and healing of others.

We attract practitioners and leaders from around the world to learn and dialogue about creating compassionate and collaborative healthcare communities."

Go have a look at their site.

Happy March Break to those of you in Quebec who have kidlets (maybe it's March Break elsewhere too? Happy MB to you too then!)