Building Resilience through Contemplative Care

by Ann AllegreAs professionals in end-of-life care, our responsibilities can seem overwhelming. As with other clinicians, we have burdens of too many patients to see, too much time spent in documenting, and hassles with insurance companies. In hospice and palliative medicine, we are impacted by the additional challenges of seeing so much suffering, grief and tragedy. While we have good tools to address most types of physical suffering, there is much suffering among our patients and their families that does not respond to medical interventions. After I had been working full-time in hospice and palliative care for a few years, I felt that I was burning out. In 2003, I took training in a contemplative approach to care, which stabilized me and allowed my career to flourish. I gained new tools for addressing the suffering that I could not relieve with medications, and I learned how to have more compassion for myself.Dr. Balfour Mount said “Our effectiveness as healers is determined by our openness, self-awareness and capacity for radical presence.” These factors describe the contemplative approach. It is about how we are present to one another. Presence is developed by applying the methods of meditation to help us deeply conne ct with our essence, the best part of our being. We bring this non-judging openness and kindness into our interactions with others. More than anything, what helps someone who is suffering is how we are.The contemplative approach helps to free us of our o...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Care Tags: allegre compassion The profession Source Type: blogs