Reflections about experiences of compassionate care from award winning undergraduate nurses – What, so what … now what?

BackgroundFrom 2007 until 2012 Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Nursing Midwifery and Social Care in conjunction with NHS Lothian, collaborated on a programme of action research entitled, the Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme. One strand of this research focused on learning and teaching about compassionate care within the undergraduate curriculum. This debate article focuses on the care issues raised by two award winning nursing students who reflected on the development of their compassionate caring skills during their three year Bachelor of Nursing programme.DiscussionThe reflective accounts debate the following issues related to compassionate care; Personal drivers supporting the provision of compassionate care, Challenging and influencing care practices, Providing relationship centred care and, Living with what can’t be achieved. Throughout the debate a model of compassionate care developed from the Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme is used to reflect on key practice issues and provide a framework for practice development.ConclusionThe care issues presented in this paper identify a need to support students in healthcare to; Develop strategies in questioning care practices which do not meet expectations of compassionate care; undertake focussed reflective activities where each student can explore personal drivers, values and perspectives of compassion; actively connect learning in practice with theory in university, enable development in compassionate caring and strategies that support self-compassion; facilitate an understanding and development of emotional intelligence supporting development of resilience

Leadership in Compassionate Care: Final Report 2012

This report reflects the initiation, planning, running and the important outcomes emerging from the Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme. The team worked in close partnership across the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University and NHS Lothian. This report also shares the highlights, challenges and solutions to embed compassionate care education and nursing practice.Additional co-authors: Fiona Smith, Stephen DM Smith, Ria Tocher, and Anne Waug

An exploration of a restorative space: A creative approach to reflection for nurse lecturer's focused on experiences of compassion in the workplace.

This study was undertaken as part of a larger programme of research; the Leadership in Compassionate Care Programme. The aim of this study was to explore and respond to the perceptions of nurse lecturers in regard to experiences of compassion in the workplace. A participatory action research approach was adopted. The study took place in a large school of nursing and midwifery in the United Kingdom, eight lecturers participated in this study. A series of four facilitated reflective workshops titled a restorative space were provided and participants used the medium of collage as a process for reflection. Data was gathered in the form of collages, field and reflective notes. Data analysis involved an iterative process between facilitators and participants during the workshops and resulting actions were implemented. Findings from this study identified three key themes related to compassion in the workplace; leadership, culture, professional and personal development. Actions identified and implemented as a consequence of these findings included opportunities for lecturers to participate in a leadership development programme and implementing rapid feedback processes between lecturers and the senior management team. The restorative space workshops and utilisation of the creative medium of collage provided a valuable process for practitioners to collaboratively reflect on their workplace experiences

Leadership in Compassionate Care: Executive Summary- Enhancing patient care by promoting compassionate practice.

The Leadership in Compassionate CareProgramme (LCCP) commenced in 2007 as athree year programme of work. Initial fundingwas received from a private benefactorand the two organisations involved in theprogramme (NHS Lothian and EdinburghNapier University) were required to matchthis funding. The work of the programmedeveloped beyond the initial funding. ALead Nurse and four Senior Nurses wereappointed to deliver the programme and awide range of staff from both organisationswere actively involved and participated withthis team. The impetus for this programmearose from local and National concernsabout care focussed on patients and theirrelatives experiencing a lack of empathyand compassion, acknowledging that it isoften small acts of kindness and a humanconnection, alongside clinical competencethat is appreciated by patients and relative

Leadership in Compassionate Care: Executive Summary- Enhancing patient care by promoting compassionate practice.

The Leadership in Compassionate CareProgramme (LCCP) commenced in 2007 as athree year programme of work. Initial fundingwas received from a private benefactorand the two organisations involved in theprogramme (NHS Lothian and EdinburghNapier University) were required to matchthis funding. The work of the programmedeveloped beyond the initial funding. ALead Nurse and four Senior Nurses wereappointed to deliver the programme and awide range of staff from both organisationswere actively involved and participated withthis team. The impetus for this programmearose from local and National concernsabout care focussed on patients and theirrelatives experiencing a lack of empathyand compassion, acknowledging that it isoften small acts of kindness and a humanconnection, alongside clinical competencethat is appreciated by patients and relative

Notch activation inhibits AML growth and survival: a potential therapeutic approach

Although aberrant Notch activation contributes to leukemogenesis in T cells, its role in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) remains unclear. Here, we report that human AML samples have robust expression of Notch receptors; however, Notch receptor activation and expression of downstream Notch targets are remarkably low, suggesting that Notch is present but not constitutively activated in human AML. The functional role of these Notch receptors in AML is not known. Induced activation through any of the Notch receptors (Notch1–4), or through the Notch target Hairy/Enhancer of Split 1 (HES1), consistently leads to AML growth arrest and caspase-dependent apoptosis, which are associated with B cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) loss and enhanced p53/p21 expression. These effects were dependent on the HES1 repressor domain and were rescued through reexpression of BCL2. Importantly, activated Notch1, Notch2, and HES1 all led to inhibited AML growth in vivo, and Notch inhibition via dnMAML enhanced proliferation in vivo, thus revealing the physiological inhibition of AML growth in vivo in response to Notch signaling. As a novel therapeutic approach, we used a Notch agonist peptide that led to significant apoptosis in AML patient samples. In conclusion, we report consistent Notch-mediated growth arrest and apoptosis in human AML, and propose the development of Notch agonists as a potential therapeutic approach in AML