Kentville Community Session Real eNgagement Report crnns.ca 1 Overview The Kentville Real eNgagement session was held on 26 March and a group of twelve RNs came together to continue to build positive momentum for possibilities in nursing. None of them had attended last year’s session. Detailed Synopsis What we want to shape inside RNs profession? What is our interest in being here? • Renew a sense of professionalism in nursing • Get away from tasks of nursing and spend more meaningful time with patients not just what we are doing to their bodies • Renewed sense of pride in the profession and embrace the self-regulation in the role • Understand what RNs bring to mental health within their scope of practice • Accountability and clarity what does it mean to be an RN • Work to full capacity • Like to see more knowledge shared, network • More unity and more positivity between nurses • Instead of complaining find out what we can do • Put a smile back on nurse’s faces • Tell nurses how valuable they are appreciation for value of nurses • To feel values. We all need a mommy, some governing agent to keep us together, everyone’s alone. Nursing has become like Lord of the Flies – there is no mommy. Realizations after story-telling activity What was your experience of this exercise? It was seemingly hard • Feeling proud • It is so nice to say nice things • Warming, enlightening • We all bring different strengths How is this experience relevant (for RNs) at this time? • We need to focus on the positives now • Go back to workplaces, we can take this back and give positive feedback to our co-workers • We can look into the eyes of our colleagues and see what’s going on there crnns.ca 2 • I can steal this activity for staff meetings • We can use positive things in spite of cynicism, because everyone wants to feel positive, just not Pollyanna suppressing our frustration, but real, seeing what is really positive in each other. Can’t deny it. The Big Shift: what strengths do we need to develop to make this shift? • Need not to get sucked into the naysayers, need to stay positive myself. • Need to keep my own gentleness alive, not become passive with it or allow myself to take on aggression of others. • Listening to others to balance determination to get nurses heard The value of this session for me was: • Connecting with registered nurses who practice in a myriad of areas, who are all different and unique. Despite our differences, we are all nurses who with our combined strengths work together to provide health care to Nova Scotians. • Bringing positive energy • To feel more empowered in my profession as a nurse. • Reminder not to give up • To become more positive, energizing • Refocus on myself and my role in positive movement and change • Forcing me to be reflective of my current practice and what I can change for the positive • Opportunity to connect with other RNs • Learn strategies to remain positive • Opened my mind to try to remain positive in all challenges I encounter daily. • Recognizing a strength can become a weakness. Suggestions/Next Steps/Improvements • Encourage workers to attend these sessions in person or go online to enjoy ‘boot camp’ these can be added to continuing education • Be the change I want to see. • Continue doing these types of sessions to reinforce unity with 10,000 other nurses across the province. ‘togetherness’ • Great job. Thank you enjoyed the afternoon. Bring the sessions to more facilities ie. Small rural hospitals. • I found it excellent. • Put what I have learned into practice and make it contagious. • Pass on the positive-ness crnns.ca 3 • Maintain focus on positivity, change the way I view my role in real engagement, and keep my positive energy level high. Nourish my positive energy internally by finding reasons to be positive • Spread these activities far and wide to further drive positive change. • Maybe a self-reflection question with license renewal each year? • Stop focusing on the negative and finding someone to blame. • More sessions like this to create self-awareness and focus on the positive. • Have these real engagement sessions in evening so staff on the units can attend. • Workshops on the individual evidence based theories. © March 26, 2015, College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia www.crnns.ca All rights reserved. Individual copies of this document may be downloaded from the College website. Portions of this publication may be reproduced for personal use. Reproduction of this document for other purposes, by any means, requires permission of the copyright owner. crnns.ca 4