Friday, the 27th of May 2016, saw the launch of what was originally meant to be the first of five sessions on developing Compassion in Practice in the Emergency Department – a series we had named “Two Wings”. We had seven participants of different backgrounds, all international medical graduates, all motivated and gifted individuals. The session began with a shared lunch at restaurant close by – bringing back memories of a time when consultants would take their juniors out for a meal. We then moved on to our Post Graduate Education Centre where we watched a video and shared personal reflections on the common journey that connects us – bringing joy, relieving suffering and trusting our own music – either on a piano or in clinical practice.
I would love to have ended there but of course the journey into compassion is rarely that easy. Minutes before the session, what had been “we” (organisers) suddenly became an “I’. I won’t go into why my co-organiser got pulled – it still feels quite raw. Yet in the honesty of that rawness lies the challenge of compassion – and its strength.
Damian Roland, a respected colleague and friend, shared in a blog recently how there may not be that much for the NHS as a whole to learn from Leicester City Foxes incredible Premier League victory. For me as an individual though, it feels different. Against the odds, against conventional logic, with little money and up against the ‘big boys’ of the Premier League – a team comes out of nowhere and wins. A story to identify with – compassion in emergency care !
So my challenge for today is to uncover #FEARLESS !
Emergency Department Compassion 