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What a health-care consultant learned as a caregiver for her mother

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If you’re one of the many thousands of Nova Scotians caring for a loved one who is ill, Mary Jane Hampton knows how you’re feeling.

During her mother’s illness, she was her family’s caregiver, and the experience taught her a lot about the role that she hadn’t previously considered.

“It became personal,” she told CBC’s Information Morning. “In the last year and half of helping to care for my terminally ill mother, I couldn’t help but notice that I was seeing the same people in waiting rooms week after week.

“Not patients — the people with the patients. The ones who had brought them to the appointment, attended the visit with the doctor and presumably had something to do with the care plan once they got the person home again.

“If I didn’t recognize their faces, I recognized the look on their faces. For the most part, they were very, very tired.”

Read the rest of the article.

 

 

This is part of a series from CBC’s Information Morning where Halifax health-care consultant Mary Jane Hampton discusses her “health hacks” — ways to make your experience with the health-care system better.

Can/Should I participate in a pain support group?

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I attended the Working with Pain talk on November 2nd and heard some amazing information about what pain is and what resources are available, like the local Pain Clinic at the VG hospital.

Discussion shifted to the idea of a pain support group on campus.  The thought of having a supportive group of colleagues who “get it” when it comes to pain and its related issues got me teary.  This took me a bit by surprise.  I realized I’ve been pushing down my feelings, carrying on with the task at hand, not letting my pain “get the best of me.” This speaks to the complexity of the issues and feelings involved. All aspects of one’s life are affected.  I mourn my past active body, I worry about dealing with daily pain in the present and I worry about what it means for my future. And I worry about crying in front of others in a support group setting.

I have experienced what it is like in the Dal caregivers support group to have people around the table that you don’t have to explain things to and who give empathy unconditionally.  And, yes, I cry at almost every meeting. So what? I am human. Feelings need to be expressed and processed.  Perhaps this is one way of doing it.

Do you or a family member experience pain?  Would you like to join an on-campus support group? Have your name added to the contact list by emailing Healthy@Dal.ca.

Janice MacInis
Human Resources

Working With Pain – On Campus Learning Events

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Hello all,

I’m super pleased to share the following learning event, being held on campus on November 2.  It is in partnership with the Dalhousie Pain Group and the Action Atlantic Pain Society.

Human Resources is conducting a learning session for faculty and staff facing challenges with Pain on November 2 from 12:00pm – 1:30pm in the Student Union Building, Room 224. Participants in this session will be presented with information and resources to better understand what pain is, how it may manifest in the body and options available to address the physical effects. Approaches for self-care and methods of coping will be discussed, as well as improving communication with health care providers. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the session leaders. The goal is to empower people with pain to make better decisions to better address obstacles.

For more information on the event and to register, please visit: https://events-tm.dal.ca/workshop.php?id=1825.

Keep watch for other events related to Pain Management, such as the Food-Pain connection, throughout the month of November.

Work Well,

Angela

Links: Dalhousie Pain Group: http://medicine.dal.ca/research/pain-group.html

Action Atllantic Pain Society: http://actionatlantic.blogspot.ca/

5 Steps to Conflict Resolution

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Workplace conflict is inevitable, as employees with different personalities, work styles, and opinions are bound to butt heads. Learning how to handle conflict efficiently is the key to preventing it from affecting workplace productivity in the long run. Here are five steps to conflict resolution in the workplace.

  1. Identify the source of the conflict

The more information you have about the cause of a conflict, the more efficiently you can help to resolve it. You need to give both parties a chance to share their side of the story. Not only will it give you a chance to better understand the situation, it will also demonstrate your impartiality.

  1. Look beyond the incident

Often, the situation itself doesn’t cause the conflict, but the perspective on the situation. This can cause anger to fester and ultimately lead to a shouting match or other visible evidence of a conflict. As a facilitating force, you can help the parties involved to look beyond the triggering incidence to see the real cause.

  1. Request Solution

After getting each party’s viewpoint on the conflict, and looking beyond the incidence, the next step is to each identify how the situation can be changed. You want to get the disputants to stop fighting and start cooperating, and that means steering the discussion away from finger pointing and toward ways of resolving the conflict.

  1. Identify solutions both disputants can support

You are listening for the most acceptable course of action. Point out the merits of various ideas, not only from each other’s perspective, but in terms of the benefits to the organization.

  1. Agreement

Do your best to get each person to agree to one of the alternatives identified in step 4. It may be sufficient to meet with the individuals and have an informal discussion, while some situations need something in writing where actions and time frames are specified.

 

Reference:

American Management Association. (2014). The Five Steps to Conflict Resolution.

Retrieved from http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/The-Five-Steps-to-Conflict-Resolution.aspx

RESEARCH: Risk and Resilience in Children of Parents with Chronic Pain

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Hello –

I am starting to meet researchers, academics,  health care professionals and advocates in an effort to get a better understanding of the resources available for faculty and staff identifying as having Pain.  It is truly impressive to hear what work is being done by such a tremendenous group of leaders right here in Halifax and as part of Dalhousie.   It is also remarkable the dedication to the person as whole, not just the mechanics of the Pain and the desire to be part of the solution.  As a person with Pain, it gives me the greatest sense of hope.

So, on behalf of one research team in particular, I am happy to pass along the following information regarding a current study:

Risk and Resilience in Children of Parents with Chronic Pain:

Parents with chronic pain and their children, ages 8-15 years, are needed for an IWK Health Centre and Nova Scotia Health Authority study. The study involves one 90-minute visit to their research centre. Parents and children will be compensated for their participation and travel expenses. Call or email to learn more! (902) 470-6906 or CPPRWest@IWK.nshealth.ca

More information is also available on this website:  http://pediatric-pain.ca/participate-in-research/.

Work Well,

Angela

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