“Listen actively with respect,” said the speaker, adding “Be succinct and to the point.” Last week, I attended this orientation session to the OLLI program at Northwestern University in Chicago. OLLI stands for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Across the country, 120 such programs exist, all associated with colleges. Having taught group dynamics and observed many …
Continue reading Aging in Chicago: A New Adventure for Fall 2014
Hey, everybody! Drop by this Saturday between 10 and 2 to see that Caring Lessons and I have finally made it to the Printers Row Lit Fest. Special pricing for the Fest will be $10.00 (normally $13.99). We'll be located at the book tent labeled Y, as in Yes. Ever since Caring Lessons came out almost …
Continue reading Caring Lessons / Printers Row Lit Fest / Chicago 2014
Readers of this blog know that I have lived with chronic itching for over a year. Some moments are really yuk, but I continually remind myself to be thankful to God for the good days, for the simple fact that I'm able to walk, talk, see, hear, and eat. And write. And take classes. And …
Last week I praised my internist’s therapeutic communication skills and promised I’d write about some bad experiences soon that I’ve had during my nearly 15-year history of fibromyalgia. So today is the time to give you one example that still floors me years later.Some back story. When I taught nursing, therapeutic communication was my favorite …
Continue reading How is your doctor’s nonverbal communication?
“Don’t let it happen again,” said Marianna Crane, my nurse practitioner friend. I could hear the disbelief in her voice. Marianna and I share a history of graduating from diploma schools of nursing in the early sixties. At that time, a visible hierarchy existed in health care. Doctors were treated like gods. And, even though Marianna …
Continue reading Therapeutic Communication Skills – An Essential in Health Care
Once upon a time, two women in their late sixties met at church and soon became friends. Letty is now 76 and Martha 74. Martha is a widow and moved to Letty’s small town after her retirement and the death of her husband to be near her children. Last week, Letty sent me this email, …
Last week I read an article about “patient activation” with some amusement. Activation sounded like batteries. Did patients need a couple of Triple As inserted into the soles of their feet to get involved in their own health care? The article defined patient activation as “understanding one’s own role in the care process and having …
Continue reading Patient Activation – Nostalgia for Dorothea Orem!
I wish I had something more soothing to write for you today. But last Monday, after a three-day hissy fit of prickly-burning body-wide itching, a dermatologist looked at the tan line on my back and asked, "Where's this tan from? And how long ago did you get it?" “Aruba. Three weeks ago,” I said. "Then …
I never heard of wallyball until two weeks ago when my friend Marianna and I spent three days at the Tennessee Fitness Spa. To celebrate turning seventy this year, we wanted to do something new, something different, and something a bit crazy. A fitness spa deep in the TN woods, home to a Natural Bridge …
Continue reading Untapped potential? Try the Tennessee Fitness Spa.
"I'd like you ask you something, " a patient said to the nurse. "Are you Asian?" The nurse, Caucasian, said, "No, I'm not. What makes you ask?" "Your name. On your badge. It says Debbie WOCN. And that last name sounds Asian." Last Saturday, I heard this story from an attendee at the Mideast Region …
Continue reading A Shout Out to Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses
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