[Susan Sander]

#89493

Hi Everyone

I think the key qualities of a strong healthcare team are mutual respect for each other’s roles and respect for the parents’ role in the life of the child, good interpersonal and listening skills, empathy and patience and self-awareness.

I imagine doctors, nurses, and therapists bringing expertise and a focus on the physical care and pain management of the child, advising and guiding parents on how to care for their child at home and making informed decisions.
The social workers, counsellors and therapists help the child and family deal with the emotional and psychological impact of the prognosis/diagnosis, reinforcing their social support structure, connecting them with community resources and help and guiding them in making decisions aligned with their values and culture.
The spiritual leader supports the family in understanding the spiritual meaning of what’s happening and provides spiritual comfort and care.

I currently manage stress and emotional challenges by enforcing clear work/personal life boundaries (eg. putting my phone on silent during family meals in the evening and on weekends), taking frequent walks in nature in the mornings before work and spending this time in prayer and meditation or just appreciating the beauty of nature, taking moments of deep breathing thoughout the day, eating nutritious meals and drinking enough water, sleeping 8 hours a night and reading interesting books in my free time over weekends.

I think self-care is especially important in children’s palliative care because caring for children is more complex because there is a larger variety of factors to consider than with adults, for example: the child’s developmental stage, taking into account the parents and their perceptions, opinions and prioroties in care, communicating with the child in a age appropriate way, sthe child’s symptoms can be different from that of an adult or not easily spotted, especially if they cannot talk yet, and working with children is generally more emotionally difficult because from a ‘normal’ perspective they are just starting life.

Healthcare teams can support each other emotionally by keeping each other accountable for their personal self-care and healthy work/life boundaries, having frequent debriefing sessions as a team to help members share and deal with their feelings in a safe and empathetic environment, and being each other’s back-ups when members are struggling.

[Tiziana Aduc]

#89520

Hi Susan, Thank you for you precise and concise answer.
I think you have nailed this answer. I am terrible at laying down boundaries. My phone is always on… even on holidays. My biggest concern around palliative teams is that we don’t have enough of them!! Currently the support I have is multidisciplinary and one needs to always make time to organise meetings to catch up. I am surrounded by amazing people in the medical fields and we work well together, but time has the tail and the horns and I need to find a way to get around that.

[Susan Sander]

#89567

Hi Tiziana

Thank you for responding to my post. I can imagine it can be extremely difficult to lay down boundaries when teams and resources (and time is a resource!) are spread thinly. And this is often the catch-22 in community as well as healthcare settings. We are so aware of the need, and that the buck stops with us (no back-up or other team can do this). But eventually, this catches up with the people in the team and their physical and/or mental health starts to suffer. I have worked with NGO’s and community settings for many years, and the challenges there are similar.

I don’t think there’s an easy answer to this. Putting ourselves before our patients/clients is heartbreaking at times. But I do think if we learn to recognise the warning signs within ourselves and in other team members, we can create a more proactive environment for helping each other out in this area.

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