Marie Manthey’s Nursing Salon

I had to cancel my salon last month due to a heavy travel period.    In six weeks I was in Ca, Mi, NY, Germany (10 days) and Ireland.     It was an interesting experience because in 90% of the work I was speaking about Primary Nursing and Leadership.    About the past and the future….and about the present, and Being Present.    There is a tremendous hunger within nursing to re-member, to re-connect with the basic values of the nursing profession.    And the enormous challenge is the workload and complexity issues that nearly overwhelm nurses is some settings.

During this past year I have been seeped in history.    Both of nursing in general and in the history of the School of Nursing at the Univeristy of Minnesota where a centennial celebration took place last week.   This School is the first on-going school of nursing to start in an academic institution anywhere in the world, as far as we can tell.   (Columbia TC started at a graduate level).

I have been studying the work of the instigator of this school, a physician named Richard Olding  Beard.     His writings clearly demonstrate why nurses need to be educated, not merely trained…..as the title of one article attests.   It is called The Educated Spirit of the Nurse.

So last week was the culmination of a very busy two months for me and I am now getting back to ’semi-retirement’, whatever that means.

One more thing.  the Centennial Gala was the time of an announcement about the establishment of the Marie Manthey Professorship for innovative practices.     If you would like more info about supporting creativity and innovation, add a comment or just email me.   I am very excited about it.    Recruitment for the position has not yet started, as fund-raising continues.

Last night another Nursing Salon was started in another state!   This one was in the state of Oregon, at the home Louise Shores, a leader in nursing education and former executive in ANA.  I was invited to attend and help with the process of this inaugral Salon.   In the beautiful setting of her yard and deck, a group of about 18 people from various walks of nursing life….and from young to ’seniors’, again experienced the impact of coming together to talk to each other about nursing …..with the result that we again experienced an incredible sense of ‘oneness’.     This is one of the most frequent outcomes of a Salon.

The growth of Salons is  so encouraging.   No matter what individuals bring to discuss during the ‘check-in’  ….the discussion itself always seems to result in a feeling of  connectedness among the participants and with the values and strengths of our profession.    Job differences, education level differences, age differences, status differences….all seem to melt away and we connect in a very positive way.    One of the first ‘check-out’ comments came from a university faculty member who said she had been feeling pessimistic about nursing when she arrived and was now optimistic.    That surge of positive energy bodes well for her and for her students.
I continue to believe that the secret to their success is in part due to the fact that Salons are not connected to any agency or institution.   The reality of gathering in homes to just talk about nursing seems to free us to reach deep into ourselves for the meaning of our work……free of role based constraints.

This one was special in that it was scheduled (by me) right in the middle of a five day practicuum on Primary Nursing.  This was the first Practicuum I’ve ever done, and it was a delightful experience for me and for the attendees.   We had a great time and we  all learned a great deal.

Soooo, in the middle of this event, I had a Salon scheduled…..all the Practicuum attendees opted to come…..so we had a group of around 20-22 people.    It was large, but the conversation flowed well, because so many knew each other already from the class.

The theme for the evening ended up being ’self-care’   a hugh challenge for many nurses as well as non-nurses.    The beautiful part was the recognition that if we are not taking good care or our own beings, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually……it is hard (if not impossible) to take good care of others.

I am looking forward to the attendees contributions to the blog…..bring them on!!

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first development of  Primary Nursing – on a medical unit (station 32) at the University of Minnesota Hospital.

The really exciting part of this anniversary is an effort underway to gather the pioneers of that first unit….from the CEO, John Westerman to the other administrators including Dave Preston ( co-director of the project), Peter Sammond,  Stan Williams, and nurse leaders  Pat Robertson (Clinical Nursing Director), Diane Bartels, (Head Nurse, now a PhD ethicist), Karen Ciske, (Nurse Clinician) Colleen Person (unit educator),  and as many of the unit staff as we can locate.

There is a reason it started at that place and at that time.    Societal changes combined with an energetic surge of  internal hospital reform from the executive suite….coupled with deep frustration and dissatisfaction within nursing set the stage for this change.   The presence of several ‘thought-leaders’ who were also involved gave us a system-focused, principle-based understanding of the meaning of the nursing practice changes that evolved.     This understanding resulted in language to describe the innovation in a way that facilitated adaption to every setting where there are clinicians and patients.

That paragraph represents my understanding today about why it has had such an impact on practice and patient care….and I am thrilled we are celebrating it’s 40th year.

The gathering we are planning is pretty unstructured at this time.   So far, we are talking about getting together for lunch at Coffman Union at the U of Minnesota sometime in August.     I’m thinking this is a golden opportunity for us to capture the insights and learnings of some key figures in what became a massive change process.    I’ m interested in any suggestions readers have about what we should capture and how to do it.   What would you like to know about the experience of the execs, nurse leaders and staff involved in the risk that led to Primary Nursing!

The RBC Symposium sponsored by Creative Healthcare Managemenet is the latest manifestation of the current resurgence of Primary Nursing.    This resurgence  has also led me to offer a 5 day practicuum in August…info about both of these is available on chcm.com

On May 21, we had the regular one at my house (3 Salons for me in 10 days!…what a treat)…and I am inviting attendees to post a note…..I’ve done enough posting today….ciao!

At the Ways of Knowing conference  (for info, visit website of Center for Spirituality and Healing at the U of Minnesota)   I found myself often connecting the Salon experience I’ve been having with the things I was learning about mindfulness as a strategy for a healthy life.   For three days, wise people from all over the country and other countries as well, taught us about the relationship between ways of being…..and well-being.   So much was relevant for the nursing profession and pertinent to what we can do to heal ourselves and our profession.    Yes, even in the fact of working in a sick-system and seems to be taking forever to get on the right track.

The Salons kept coming up in my mind because of the depth of meaning experienced there….as well as the fact that being present at one in and of itself seems to bring all of us a degree of peace not found often in the pressure cooker of health care….and that is desperately needed.

I learned mindfulness in and of itself is healing….and that mindfulness meditation involves intention, attention and attitude…..and opens the door for experiencing the deep truths that lie at the very foundation of our work.   It is such noble work….and we are privileged to do it.   Being open to that truth changes the day to day experience of being a nurse.

In a few weeks, the entire conference will be posted on the website of the Center and I encourage everyone to watch for it.   If I can figure out who to add the link….I will do so now.   ciao. CSH Home

On May 19, just one week after kicking off a Salon in Leeds, England, I was invited to do the same thing in Anaheim California.    Here, some really innovative leaders at UC Irvine invited educators and practioners (including students and staff nurses) from three hospitals and several colleges to  a first time Salon.   This first one was held  in a private dining room of a favorite restaurant and there were over 35 attendees with much enthusiasm for the concept.

I am always fascinated by the comments made during the ‘check-out’…..and the consistency with which phrases like …”I loved hearing the passion experienced nurses still have” from the younger attendees and similar words from experienced nurses about novices.

It is also always interesting to me to see how quickly the discussion moves into deep content, into deep truths about the nature of nursing work.   I have invited them to add their comments to the blog….

Last week, on the eve of Nightingale’s birthday, nurses gathered in a private home to have a discussion about nursing.   They invited me to be there for the ‘kick-off’ of the first Salon in the UK.   It was energizing, rewarding and exciting.   The issues we discussed had to do with the basic values of nursing….and what it means to use a holisitic approach.    I felt completely at home, although I had only met one or two of the people there before.   But, we were nurses…..and there is a feeling of knowing one another that surfaces at times like this.

This event  took place in Doncaster, near Leeds, north of London.   Hopefully more will start up around the UK….and this first one will continue on a regular basis.

A couple of my English nurse friends were there, including Steve Wright, a well known leader in the UK whose book Sacred Space has guided my thinking about my own spirituality and the connection spirituality has with nursing practice.

A couple of other leaders were there as well….and the age/experience/education span was as generous as it is here.    We had a student nurse….and a wonderful retired enrolled nurse (similar to LPN here)….and again, the passion for practice encompassed all present.

I am hoping someone who was there will contribute to the blog….and that everyone starts sharing this experience with the nursing community through this blog.

We met at my house on  April 13th and had great conversation about nursing from many different perspectives.   I can’t tell you   how important these kinds of meetings are….and how deeply committed I am to helping this concept grow across the US.   I do have guidelines available for anyone and you can receive them by just asking me for them.   Also I am available for phone conversations to help other groups get started.

With permission from the writer, I am copying an email I received from one of the attendees of that Salon

Hi Marie,

I neglected saying goodnight and thank you to you last night……my  apologies.  I was in a discussion with Paula about evidence based practice and we just kept talking and walked out!  Oh dear I thought,  but then I imagined, it was okay with you as the salon again fostered  great conversation.

Maybe its because I’ve been away for awhile, but last night struck me  silent.  I was deeply moved by R’s closing comments…..I  actually had tears in my eyes.  For the first time in her nursing  career she was proud of her profession.  Do we need any more proof how  powerful these salons can be?  I’ve missed them.

Thank you so much Marie……you enable us to ponder the wonder of nursing and how much we can touch other’s lives.  And I am grateful.

See you next time,  D.

So, you see readers, why I am so passionate about this idea ….and see it as a way to bring true healing right into our personal/ professional lives.

I need to apologize for not getting to this blog more often….and to let you know I intend to change that starting now.    I will be responding to all comments after I complete this post.