Lessons from an Osteopath
By: Joy Goldman RN, MS, PCC: CEO SixSEED Partners, BSN, ACC
Background:
At SixSEED Partners, as we coach leaders and teams to see common organizational stressors as interdependent challenges (like activity AND rest, mission AND margin), we invite our leaders and teams to better leverage the science AND the compassion in healthcare. This personal story from Portugal is a wonderful illustration from which we can all learn.
“Alternative/Complementary Health” in Portugal:
As someone with four decades of experience working in healthcare, I know enough to know that my best strategy for staying healthy is to take an active role in my own health through exercise, nutrition, mindfulness and using complementary methods for their health-promoting influences. Since moving to Portugal, I take yoga classes; go for morning meditation walks and have been using an osteopath who also practices acupuncture. Toward the end of one session, as I was waiting for the osteopath to come to do his manual adjustments, I began to get teary recalling a recent loss. Working with the body can do that- evoke emotions that the body has stored when the mind pushes the pain or grief away.
Kindness in Action:
After caring for his other patients at this busy clinic, Luis came to see me and paused. He did what might be unusual in modern healthcare, which was to pause, notice a tear on my face, suspend his agenda, get a tissue to wipe away my tear, and provide Reiki where he placed his hand above my heart. His actions only took moments, yet in those moments he cared for my mind, heart, and spirit. He was not concerned about doing real-time documenting in the EMR; he was concerned about me as a whole person.
Application for Busy Clinicians:
I recently coached a GYN-Oncologist who was describing his packed clinic days. Our work focused on how she might show up with her patients in a more authentic way, and how centering might help her feel less stressed. We decided that she could invite her patients for a moment of prayer, gratitude, and breathing at the start of their visit so that both physician and patient were in a more peaceful state, allowing for a more healing visit.
How are you impacting science and compassion in your interactions? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know at SixSEED Partners.
