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We are born with two ears and one mouth. There may be a sound reason for that. It is hardly a conversation when you are talking to someone and they don’t let you get a word in edge-wise.

Listening is about showing the other person or persons respect. You value their opinion enough to listen to what they have to say. When you are constantly cutting someone off in the middle of a conversation you are really telling them they are not worth listening to.

This can be a real problem at any facility. Whether you are an executive, staff member, clinician, or groundskeeper, you have to be able to communicate with one another in order to get the job done.

Everyone feels like there isn’t enough time in the day so “keep it short and sweet when you are talking to me”. There may be times during the day where short and sweet is the best answer, but if you portray yourself like that all the time, then be prepared to be cut out of the daily communication loop.

The best information in any organization travels by word of mouth. The best ideas to boost productivity are hashed out in conversation before they are reduced to a memo. The same is true when the company plan isn’t executing as intended – the team gets together to discuss the problem and find a solution. However, if one person attempts to dominate the conversation it is the equivalent of driving into a sinkhole and then creativity grinds to a halt and only the dinner bell can rescue you. Many good ideas come from being a good listener. So be a Contributor and not a Dominator the next time you are participating in a conversation.

by Melanie L. Bowen

Nurses can play a vital role in the care of the chronically ill patients such as those dealing with diagnoses of congestive heart failure, renal disease or various types of cancer. Many times, the doctor is the first medical caregiver thought of in these situations. While the doctor plays a major role in diagnosing and prescribing of treatments and drugs, the nurse is the caregiver who is most often with the patient.

Some of the key roles for which nurses are responsible in these scenarios include hands-on treatment, psychological support for patients and families and advocating for the patient.

The nurse is most responsible for carrying out a doctor’s orders. While other support personnel such as pharmacists, respiratory therapists and physical therapists may be involved; the nurse spends the most time with the patient.

The nurse makes sure that the patient receives his medications on time, deals with any side effects from treatments, ensures that the patient receives the most nutritionally balanced meals possible and often arranges for him to make it to treatments on time. In addition, the family often has more interaction with the nurse than with any other healthcare personnel; the nurse is the face of the healthcare team.

The American Society of Registered Nurses reports in a study that approximately a quarter of cancer patients suffer from depression. In addition, other symptoms such as anxiety, grief and denial need to be addressed. The nurse is often the first person to notice these symptoms since the nurse has the most contact with the patient. Once these concerns are noted, the doctor can appropriately address them with medication, therapy or other beneficial treatment modalities.

Most importantly, the nurse is the patient’s advocate. Since the nurse understands chronic illness and the healthcare process, he can successfully advocate for appropriate treatments and medications in order to control the patient’s pain, psychological concerns, treatment side effects and more. A nurse has the ability as well as the responsibility to communicate the patient’s concerns with the doctor and other healthcare team members as appropriate.

A nurse plays key roles in the care of the chronically ill patient. Whether it is caring for the patient’s physical or psychological concerns or advocating for the patient’s needs, the nurse is always a key player on the patient’s team. The nurse’s importance to the patient’s overall wellbeing cannot be underestimated.

Find a medical staff be it in the hospital or at home who not only care for your wellbeing but knows how to help physically and emotionally. If there is a person who can help you on the road to recovery and make your process a little easier on your worry and concern, why not give it a shot? Be it recovering from breast, mesothelioma, colon cancer or leukemia find a nurse that will fight alongside you.

Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog at http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog

I knew I had finally found the right title for my book when an elder I was visiting repeated several times after I said the title – “Isn’t that a great title?” Then she asked me to repeat the title after which she repeated again, “Isn’t that a great title?” When this same exchange repeated itself on my third visit to Maribeth, I realized that she acted like she had never heard the title before in her life. Shortly after leaving Maribeth in her room, her caregiver confided that Maribeth makes her understand the difference between the mind and memory.

It was clear that Maribeth, a retired brilliant college professor turning 90, sharp as tacks, still had a very quick active mind, but she couldn’t remember what was said a minute ago let alone a week ago.

When my Mom would try to identify me, she would often mistake me for my sister’s oldest child. I just could not grasp how she could say that. It made me feel like I was walking in another dimension almost like I was just in a car accident and I didn’t know what the hell happened. As caregivers, we cannot catch up with the invisible distortions of a demented mind. So how do we walk in the shoes of the cognitively impaired?

Since I now work with the bereaved families and friends, I often find myself helping someone through the confused, often traumatic, shocked early raw stages of loss/grief. Clients express numbness often like Novocain – that is slowly wearing off after dental work. Or, sudden breakdowns – waves of grief – when they reach for their loved one’s hand in the morning half-asleep then remember slowly that he/she is dead.

To walk in their shoes we have to experience what it feels like to lose your memory. Education about dementia and bereavement is absolutely necessary to understanding the special communications needed.

“As Long as You Sing, I’ll Dance: The bond not the burden – the blessing of reciprocal caregiving”” is available at www.amazon.com and www.reciprocalcare.com

Press clips at http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Capturing-rhythm-of-dementia-3836885.php

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2012/09/06/news/doc5047810d1a5d4628823491.txt

http://poly.rpi.edu/2012/09/12/caregiving_book_makes_convincing_points/