Day Three - Releasing Time to Care

As with all conferences, this was the day when we wrapped up, tied up and carried away all of our experiences and education from Day One and Day Two.Some of us were  - well, I suspect most of us - were ready to be home in our own beds, with our own families and friends. Amazingly, the sun shone favourably on Vancouver. The timing of this conference coincided beautifully, lending a positive karmic grace to all of our deliberations - or does that sound too airy-fairy?

There was nothing airy-fairy about these three days. It was not a top-down, hierarchical, or simply educational conference. This Releasing Time to Care is for improving patient care by increasing the availability of time with changes to the way things are done by staff on their respective units ~ communication, finding problem areas and solutions that fit those problems. Changing things that need changing and strengthening those that work ~ for all the health care team members to the benefit of our patients. The conference may be over, but the work has yet to begin.

I do enjoy and am excited by most conferences that I have attended. However, once I am home and in my own surroundings again, the excitement wanes until I have forgotten all but a few highlights ~ a keynote speaker, a particular presentation, or some feature that captured my attention. What captured my imagination this time was the entire presentation and it's collaborative, hands on approach. A presentation that spoke to what has long been important to me ~ changing health care systems that have stagnated because of routines that, while still having a basic utility, many times have felt plodding and tiresome.

What has seemed an impossibility, has flowered into possibility. With enough willingness and humility, I will be an effective part of the many upcoming discussions that will foster change to the status quo on our Detox unit. Any change to a present reality does usually involve collaboration and communication, elbow grease and sweat equity, in order to become the next reality.

“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.”

~ Mark Twain