Sunday, November 29, 2009

Scholarly Project


Another evening spent developing queries and searching databases, pondering, considering and ultimately discounting all but one of the ideas I had penciled in my moleskin as possible topics for a scholarly project. The "novelty" factor is an important influence here. I am less interested in writing a review article or conducting a clinical trial and more interested in developing a learning tool that incorporates Web 2.0... something new, something I have not done before.... A significant time investment is expected, culminating in a formal report & presentation. The mind map adjacent is a placeholder. I want to sit with my idea for a few days gauging my interest and enthusiasm "indicators". Meanwhile, this article was a source of inspiration:


Friday, November 27, 2009

The Power of Music

The glorious voice of Carolyn Sampson with The King's Consort performing Sancta Maria, mater dei K273 from Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate (written 1777).

Please note: In re-engineering this post with the new embed code for music from soundcloud.com  (following the crash of mailboxdrive.com where the mp3 file was stored), the remaining content of the post was lost. It included commentary about the power of music and a link to Lightbridge Music.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

One Slide & The Momentum of Networking

Engage with Grace Project

The Chaplain

We had journal club today. The article was an interesting one, dealing with spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care, and it summarized the findings of a national consensus conference. Spirituality was defined as the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek & express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred. The importance of including a chaplain on the interprofessional team caring for the patient was emphasized. I have seen chaplains working in health care but never really understood how their role differs from that of theologians, ministers or faith-based healers etc. In Anesthesia practice, our paths usually crossed at times of tragedy, and then it was for the family, rarely the patient. I recall Father Mulcahy, the fictional chaplain from M*A*S*H and other fictional characters featured in the Doonesbury comic and a couple of novels, Camus' "L'Etranger" (a favorite of my french teacher) and Heller's Catch-22. So, when I came home from work tonight, I searched reliable old Wikipedia and Google as an introductory means to help me understand the distinction. Chaplaincy is a recognized profession - one where the practitioners possess the educational requirements to screen, assess and counsel those needing spiritual or emotional support. As well, they can perform religious services such as last rites, marriages and baptisms. The role is not necessarily faith-based, making some knowledge of other belief systems necessary. A chaplain could be a priest, pastor, ordained deacon, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organised as a mission or church, or who are unable to attend church for various reasons; such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties. In recent years many non-ordained persons (lay chaplains) have received professional training in chaplaincy and are now appointed in settings such as schools, hospitals, universities, prisons and elsewhere to work alongside or instead of ordained chaplains. In Canada, Health Care Chaplains may be certified by the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education.

Monday, November 16, 2009

eHealth for Consumers & eMedicine for Physicians

I am located somewhere between early & late adopters when it comes to embracing a new product, technology, or idea. Not on the cutting edge but not a straggler either. Here are two Microsoft powerpoint presentations available from slideshare that I enjoyed watching... I am still contemplating 'how', 'how much' and 'what' of the Web 2.0 technology to incorporate into my own learning, continuing education & practice, not to mention into interactions with patients, colleagues and those who call me their teacher & see me as a role model.





Saturday, November 14, 2009

Jungle Dreams

I tossed and turned last night dreaming of the jungle in vivid color. The foliage was typically dense and the sights & sounds similar to what I have seen in documentaries and movies. I didn't recognize any of the characters. So far nothing unusual. There were several scenes, different plots, rather disorganized and disjointed but in retrospect, all the pieces were bound by a common thread, 'contrast'. As each section unfolded there was order mixed with confusion, harmony jumbled together with discord, calm intertwined with struggle, living beside dying... A metaphor for my personal experience of the first two months of Palliative fellowship. Returning "home" to Winnipeg this past month has been restorative in many ways. The landscape was soothing, the weather surprisingly warm, friends, colleagues and co-workers were welcoming and so interested in my stories. It felt good to be "known" again. There was time for all that fills my senses. The purpose of this month was an elective in Web 2.0 technologies. I worked hard, learned a stunning amount of useful, practical information, and thoroughly enjoyed the brilliant librarians (& their library humour) at the NJM Health Sciences Library. My emotions are mixed as I prepare to return to Ottawa and continue the clinical fellowship.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Mindfulness Meditation

Today I finished an on-line course entitled "Mindfulness and the Brain". The idea of exploring both meditation and keeping a personal journal emerged from reading the article below and preparing the contents for presentation at Palliative Journal Club in September. The authors conclude only these two practices, out of many possibilities examined, have sufficient scientific evidence to support their use for mitigating burnout & compassion fatigue in physicians caring for dying patients.
Six weeks and several hours of training in the science & practice of meditative awareness later (I listened again and again to the lessons) and I am convinced this is worth further study.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Trying new (to me) technology


Buddha Blessing by Alicepopkorn, digital artist. I have spent the better part of 24 hours over several days trying to figure out how to change the format of audio files and upload music. None of this new technology comes without some sort of struggle. There are so many options out there, finding the "best" resources requires some persistence and a lot of trust. In the process, I stumbled across a website where the photographs are shared through a creative commons process. I tried to upload the picture to this blog directly using Flickr but success came only after emailing it and uploading from my own computer. Tomorrows project - authorize posting from Flickr to Blogger. This elective month is flying by. I am just skimming the surface of all there is to learn and meanwhile trying to figure out what tools will be useful to me in my academic career. Perhaps you would like to listen to Sanctus (Locus Iste) performed by Libera & found on their Visions album.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Infant son

I was on overnight Anesthesia labor floor call on Saturday... a bustling, happy place usually. The words "code blue newborn" echoed overhead about 2am. I was already running. My pager was bleeping and vibrating in that tone reserved for the worst of emergencies. He was perfectly perfect at the moment of birth, a little extra encouragement needed to cry. Something wasn't quite right though, the team working diligently, ultimately a heart not perfectly formed. The curious thing was, in between epidurals & C-sections that day, I had been searching, cataloging & practicing the empathic phrases palliative care physicians tend to use when speaking with dying patients and their families. There are words that resonate & "carefully-crafted" sentences that tend to reach more deeply than others. I never imagined I would be using them with distraught and grief-stricken parents. 

~~Lullaby~~
What I wouldn't give
To have you in my arms again,
Breathe your scent
And snuggle close to you.
I want to watch you sleep,
See your chest rise and fall
In peaceful slumber.
Let me lay my hand
Over your heart,
So I can
Feel it beating
Beneath my touch.
I want to be
Lulled to sleep
By its rhythm.
~~ by Tara Simms 




We do not remember days; We remember moments.
~~ Cesare Pavese