Louise Ann Kenney
El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC), USA
Title: Comfort, compassion and caring- the facets of healthcare and nursing
Biography
Biography: Louise Ann Kenney
Abstract
Nursing is often associated with the words comfort, compassion and caring. As healthcare moves toward patient-centered models of care, how do we ensure that a caring, curing culture that nurtures both nurses and nursing practice to help meet the challenges of change while preserving the core of nursing. It begins with understanding the type of culture that’s driving the work environment. All too often, culture is described as “what happens when no one is watching” where the energies that pushes nursing practice to act on the behavior that “We have always done it that way.” But if you think about it, nursing continues to evolve. There are changes that happen innocuously and not outwardly apparent. It creeps into the same work culture and it becomes sustainable. Other changes are a stark contrast and the transformation is intense and creates a very different environment. Innovation can thrust us forward in a way that now the culture has evolved and take us from what was always done in a certain fashion now to “It’s never been done this way”. This disruptive innovation can be exciting, revving up the creative spirit of caring but also increasing the heat in the room even more.