Sunday, March 31, 2019

Highlights from the Maple Syrup March Newsletter

keywords:  community news, research papers, community discussion resources, newsletter


“Often when you’re at the edge of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” Fred Rogers
Tidbits from the March 2019 newsletter
March:  The Maple Sap is Rising
It is early spring.  The sap is rising; the season for growth and movement.
What are you noticing about the spring energy of growth and movement?  Uncomfortable? Blocked?  Perfect weather?  More than ready to jump into summer after a long winter?

Short Topic Summary for This Newsletter

HH Project News
  • Free Download from the Project
  • Looking for sponsor(s) to help cover the cost of video edits for the latest in the “Paths to Practice” interview series. 
    • In the “Paths to Practice” interview series, I interview a colleague about their path into hospital-based practice. 
    • There are options for full sponsorship and partial sponsorship. 
    • Please contact me if you or your business or organization is interested.  Thank you for supporting this work.  
  • Did you know we have an online short course available?
  • Thank you for supporting this work!  
www.thehospitalhandbook.com


March Discussion Topics in the Community
  • Acupuncture for post-surgical pain
  • Knee/joint replacement integrative care models:  The Bree Collaborative’s bundled payment model 
    • On knee/joint replacement care, let's take a step back and look at models of care for the patient's care process from pre-surgery to recovery.  The Bree Collaborative of Washington state finished the total knee replacement bundled payment model standard last year (2018).  This is a one-to-watch for your medical centers. 
    • The Bree Collaborative is a standard-setter in value-based model care with patient-centered outcomes.  It sets standards for WA state health care policy. These models they discuss work best in “centers of healthcare excellence (COHE or COE)” where patients can have access to all services in the bundle in one system and in a timely manner.  From assessment of surgery to surgery to inpatient stay to post-operative care to rehabilitation care.  
    • share-able published articles on this topic: 
Recommended reading this month (book and article recommendations)


National News

More on research this past month--Basics and Bodywork-focused
  • The Massage Therapy Foundation (research) and the NCBTMB (massage therapy and bodywork) have collaborated to create a webinar series on the basics of research in 2019.  The first webinar aired in February 2019, with the episode, "Why Research?"
Support the Project
You can support this work anytime:
  1. Share blog posts 
  2. Sponsor a newsletter or pitch in to offset daily operating costs at a cup of coffee or lunch. ☕️
  3. Take our first metrics course
Thank you for your support!
Happy early spring!
Megan


Here's the link to the full March newsletter if you missed it.  Sign up on our email list to get future newsletters.  
www.thehospitalhandbook.com
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Saturday, March 30, 2019

March Leadership and Workplace Mondays Summary

keywords:  leadership, workplace, workplace culture, being an employee

Inspiration for Employees and their Leaders 

Review of the "Leadership and Workplace Mondays" theme from the public HHP Facebook Page, March 2019











If you enjoyed this, check out our public Facebook Page and subscribe to our email list. 

For more recommended reading (books and audiobooks) on leadership, see our Reflecting on Leadership post.

More posts on Leadership

If this was useful, please support this community work.  
You can buy me a coffee, sponsor a newsletter, or sponsor a project via the website.
www.thehospitalhandbook.com
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Research Thursdays Summary for March 2019

key words:  research literacy, funding and grants, sharing related research in the field, research in integrative health

The March Research Roundup

Review of the "Research and Metrics Thursdays" theme from the public Facebook Page and newsletter

At the Hospital-practice Handbook Project, we encourage practitioners to cultivate mentor-relationships and practice research literacy.


Recommended Research Reads this Month
Reviewing the Basics

Bodywork/Massage Therapy
  • The Massage Therapy Foundation is hosting a free webinar series on the basics of research on select days in 2019.  The first one was in February 2019, "Why Research?".  Go here for the recording.   They also offere a continuing education credit for watching the episode, just go to their website.  
  • Research Perch podcast episode: "Massage Therapy in Outpatient Cancer Care part 1"  
  • Research Perch podcast episode follow up, "Massage Therapy in Outpatient Cancer Care part 2".  
    • But, this episode dives into translational research...how research can inform clinical practice.  Asking questions like:  where did this come from?  why do we do that?  Just because something is common doesn't mean it is right.  What is the therapeutic benefit for the patient?  Is that model a business model or a model based on patient-centered care and therapeutic benefit?  Treatment frequency, time in treatment, therapy used, tracking functional measures, etc.  This is a good listen for any clinician in the field of integrative health.

Humanism in Healthcare and Clinician Resilience
Research Conferences
  • The 2019 International Massage Therapy Research Conference will be May 9-10, 2019 in Alexandria, VA.  "IMTRC 2019 will feature keynote speaker Helene Langevin, MD, Director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), and panel sessions on pain management and addressing the opioid epidemic with massage therapy.  Education sessions will explore the use of therapeutic massage for arthritis, breast cancer, low back pain, and anxiety."  

Funding Announcements

For more on the topic of research
  • follow the tag/label in this blog for "research literacy"

Other monthly research summary blogposts



Did you find this information useful or interesting?
Subscribe to our email list for the latest updates and follow us
for "research and metrics Thursdays" on the public Facebook Page.

You can support this community-wisdom-sharing work by
 buying me a coffee or sponsoring a newsletter via our website.  Thank you.
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Monday, March 18, 2019

Self Care: Self-Reflection for the Lenten/Early Spring Season

key words:  self-care, self-reflection, mindfulness, poetry, qi gong / nei gong, tai chi, finding your current calling, clearing physical clutter and Marie Kondo's books, journaling with James Pennabaker's books or journal prompts from Wayne Jonas, MD and the Samueli Institute, and a couple self-reflection prayerwork traditions


Self-Care:  Practicing Self-reflection

Background
If you could use an opportunity to renew your self-care, whether it is your new year resolution or just the spring-cleaning vibe, the Lenten season is as good a time as any.  Lent is 40 days before Easter from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday.  It coincides with the turning of the season from late winter to spring. 
The Christian observance of Lent focuses on self-reflection and discerning your path to your best self—to discerning your path/your calling.  It is about clearing out the (internal) debris and clutter between you and God and turning your path back toward the Light.

You don’t have to be Christian for these timeless ideas to sound familiar.

So, in your self-care practice, pick what is true to you and your path.  This blogpost is only my ideas from my limited experience.  If some of this is helpful, great!  If it’s not for you, that is okay; just let it go.

Where Self-Reflection Fits Into Self-Care Habits
So, in self-care practice, you should have some element of self-reflection.  I discussed this briefly in an earlier blogpost about different categories of self-care to include movement, self-reflection/mindset/inspiration, nutrition/food, spending time outdoors, breathwork, and recreation/socializing and connecting to your community.

How to Start Your Self-Reflection Habit
As we move from winter to spring, take quiet time to be with your heart.  Quiet, heart-listening time.
What comes up for you?  Peace or restlessness?
If it is restlessness or discontent, can you identify where this is coming from?
The energy of spring is about forward movement and new growth.

Is there a change you need to make in your life?  In self-reflection, slowly work to discern, what this discontent or restlessness is connected to.
Is this leading you forward on your life path toward the best-version-of-yourself?  Or is something in your current life or your lifestyle that has you stuck in a rut or leading you to something you do not want to be?

What do you need to do to be closer to the best-version-of-yourself?  Journal about it.  Find mentors who can help you on your path.  Keep working on it.  5 minutes/day minimum is better than no time at all.
Identify (to yourself) the clutter you are clearing out to make space and peace in your heart and in your life.

There are so many ways this can manifest, as many ways as there are individuals.  And, as an individual, you may find one pattern of clearing/de-cluttering/cleaning that works best for you.  And you may notice you have familiar ruts you get stuck in.
You may need to change up how you do your clearing/de-cluttering/cleaning when you “best way” is no longer working as well as it used to.

Change is uncomfortable.  And, change is constant.
“Often when you’re at the edge of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” -Fred Rogers
“Nobody else can live the life you live.  And even though no human being is perfect, we always have the chance to bring what’s unique about us to live in a redeeming way.”       -Fred Rogers
“Our lives change when our habits change.” –Matthew Kelly

Self-reflection—discerning your current calling
Sister Joan Chittister, in her book Following the Path: the search for a life of passion, purpose, and joy, says an individual rarely has just one calling in life.  In fact, we are called to different things throughout our lives.  But we must practice self-reflection and discernment to hear those calls and recognize what they are.  And, have the courage to follow them.  Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a calling-within-a-calling. 




Steven Pressfield and Tim Grahl talk about “shadow
careers”.  That we are following what we feel is “best fit” and “right at the time” careers that help us develop the skills we need for our “true calling”.  But that everything eventually becomes a shadow of what your next calling is. 
Links to Stephen Pressfield’s books:
The Artists’ Journey: The Wake of the Hero’s Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning (2018) 
The War of Art: break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles 

Concluding Message
We should be always listening to our hearts, discerning in our self-reflection practices, and taking stock of where we are in our path toward what we are called to be, the best-version-of-ourselves, and what that looks like, in that time and space.

Ideas and resources
If you are looking for ideas to renew or start your self-reflection practice, here are some resources to learn more about mindfulness, clearing physical clutter, journaling, tai chi and qi gong, prayerwork, and poetry.


Mindfulness


Informed Mindfulness:  The Power of Awareness and Choice in Effective Leadership by Michael Aquilino, Bonnie Horrigan, and Adam Perlman


Related blogposts and websites


Clearing the Physical Clutter
Clearing the clutter.  For clearing out the physical space to help make room in your internal (mental, emotional, spiritual) space, I recommend the book by Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  She also has a follow up book, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up 




Journaling
Journaling, proven by James Pennebaker and colleagues (published in peer-reviewed scientific journals) to be useful in processing emotions and ideas in a healthy way.  Journaling helps process experiences to find clarity.  Journaling has proven health benefits.  





 Tai Chi and Qi Gong
Work with your local certified instructor or NCCAOM board-certified acupuncturist.   

 If you are also interested in a book about these practices for self-care, look up Dr. Roger Janke’s The Healer Within: Using Traditional Chinese Techniques to Release Your Body’s Own Medicine ,Movement, Massage, Meditation, Breathing 







 Prayer work

  • Work with a spiritual director in your faith.  The oldest Christian monastic order, the Benedictines, have a tradition of outreach to community in spiritual direction from one-on-one sessions, group sessions, and retreats that are non-denominational or Catholic. 
    • For example, see the St. Placid Priority programs in Olympia, WA, at the Priory Spirituality Center 2019 programs include art (felting, enneagram), music-facilitated imagery for the soul, and seasonal programs (Lenten retreat). 
  • Or maybe other monastic traditions in your area may offer some form of spiritual direction.
  • If you enjoy mindfulness practices and quiet contemplation, you may be interested in learning centering prayer.  The old tradition of lectio divina that leads to the practice of centering prayer is both peaceful and healing but requires a mentor due to its complexity and depths.

Poetry and Poetry-Prose
Tao De Ching
(on the Reflective Reads post)

  • Ideas for inspiration at the Reflective Reads blogpost include the following authors: John Muir, Lao-Tzu, Mary Oliver, Benjamin Franklin, William Butler Yeats, and John O’Donohue



poetry is a useful vehicle for self-reflection

If this post on self-care was helpful to you, please support this work via our website and share with a friend.  Peace to you in your self-reflection practice.  
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Thursday, February 28, 2019

February Research Thursdays Summary

key words:  research literacy, funding and grants, sharing related research in the field, research in integrative health

The February Research Roundup

Review of the "Research and Metrics Thursdays" theme from the public Facebook Page and newsletter

At the Hospital-practice Handbook Project, we encourage practitioners to cultivate mentor-relationships and practice research literacy.




  • Resource: The PCORI ambassador program supports the forward movement of patient-centered care metrics.  Did you know they have an Ambassador program you can connect to?  According to their website:  
    • "PCORI Ambassadors represent the entire healthcare stakeholder community and the program is open to anyone interested in advancing patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR).  Get connected to PCORI Ambassadors and learn more about them."  
  • Do you know where your nearest Teaching Kitchen or Community Health Kitchen is located?  Learn more about this resource and the research being presented at past Teaching Kitchen conferences, the Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives annual conference. 
  • The 2018 National Academy of Medicine (NAM) "Non-Pharm Pain" Conference recordings are available.  These are a recommended lunchtime listen and there is more information on the Lunchtime Listen page.  Or you can go directly to the YouTube playlist. 
  • The U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) call for research papers on acupuncture for low back pain and on the training and education of acupuncturists ended February 14th, 2019.  See the related blogpost for more information on it.  Several national and international organizations submitted white papers to CMS and will be publishing their white papers on their websites by spring, including the American Society of Acupuncturists and the Acupuncture Now Foundation.  I will add those links, when they are available, to the CMS blogpost.  The CMS call reference the AHRQ paper published in summer 2018.  The link to this paper is also in the CMS blogpost.
  • Latest update in the FDA Roadmap Series by the National Health Council published late February 2019.  See this post for the link to the video.  (audiovisual presentation on patient-centered metrics)
  • The Massage Therapy Foundation is hosting a free webinar series on the basics of research on select days in 2019.
  • The winter issue of Meridians: Journal of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is out.  If you have membership with your state professional acupuncture organization, you have free access to the full electronic edition.  Or you can buy access to a specific issue or a subscription through their website.  Send me a message through The Hospital Handbook Project website contact page or write in the comments below your favorite article of this issue or another issue!
  • NCCIH and the National Cancer Institute hosted a workshop on "translating the fundamental science of acupuncture into clinical practice" earlier this month (February 2019).  


Funding Announcements



Recommended Study to Read this Month 



For more on the topic of research
  • follow the tag/label in this blog for "research literacy"

Other monthly research summary blogposts



Did you find this information useful or interesting?
Subscribe to our email list for the latest updates and follow us
for "research and metrics Thursdays" on the public Facebook Page.

You can support this community-wisdom-sharing work by
 buying me a coffee or sponsoring a newsletter via our website.  Thank you.
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February Leadership and Workplace Mondays Roundup

keywords:  leadership, workplace, workplace culture, being an employee, teamwork and team communication

Inspiration for Employees and their Leaders 

Review of the "Leadership and Workplace Mondays" theme from the public HHP Facebook Page, February 2019
"To scale daring leadership and build courage in teams and organizations we have to cultivate a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectation.  And, probably more importantly, armor is not necessary or rewarded." 
"If we want people to fully show up, to bring their whole selves, including their unarmored whole hearts, so that we can innovate, solve problems, and serve people, we have to be vigilant about creating a culture in which people feel safe, seen, heard and respected." 
"Daring leaders must care for and be connected to the people they lead. Care and connection are irreducible requirements for whole-hearted, productive relationships between leaders and team members."  
-Brene Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.  quoted from the audiobook.  chapter 9.

How to build a dream team in 5 steps--an interesting read on building a dream team with links to a free access lecture on the topic from LinkedIn learning.

How to have a productive conversation--how to talk with your manager/hospital admin about additional training, expanding a program, funding, or time.  The LinkedIn Learning article and video give 5 steps for a productive conversation:
  1. present your case and state your goal
  2. offer supporting evidence
  3. check in
  4. show you heard the feedback
  5. restate or refine your request
See the open (free) video "making your case", within the larger course, Having an Honest Career Conversation With Your Boss.  



If you enjoyed this, check out our public Facebook Page and subscribe to our email list. 

For more recommended reading (books and audiobooks) on leadership, see our Reflecting on Leadership post. 

More posts on Leadership

If this was useful, please support this community work.  
You can buy me a coffee, sponsor a newsletter, or sponsor a project via the website.
www.thehospitalhandbook.com
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