Recent travels: UC-Davis – among the best of the best! May 23, 2017
Posted by mariemanthey in Inspiration, Leadership, Professional Practice.Tags: Health Care System, Hospitals, Primary Nursing, Relationship-Based Care, Symposium
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I had the pleasure of visiting UC-Davis recently, and it was delightful as always to experience the culmination of so much of our shared vision of an optimal health care system.
Nursing here actually fits something I wrote years ago, a reprise of Judy Chicago’s “Merger: A Vision of the Future”
Here is that actual piece of hers:
And then all that has divided us will merge | And then compassion will be wedded to power | And then the softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind | And then both men and women will be gentle | And then both women and men will be strong | and then no person will be subject to another’s will | And then all will be rich and free and varied | And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old | | And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth.
Here is my health care variant:
And then a collaborative practice will emerge | And then care will be wedded to cure | And then health will come to a world that is diseased | And then both doctors and nurses will be gentle | And then both nurses and doctors will be respected | And then no person will be treated as a task or a task do-er | And then health will be within reach of most much of the time, and journeys through sickness will be periods of nurturance and care | and then the act of one person caring for another at the time when they are vulnerable will be held as crucial to the human race.
UC-Davis is among that group of hospitals that I feel very nearly reaches those ideals! Thank you for having me, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon at the Symposium!
Marie Manthey's Nursing Salon 
I have been giving a lot of thought to the partnership paradigm – collaboration. Recently, I was asked to reflect on my career to this point and comment on 1 or 2 turning points. One that instantly came to mind was when I took a “Negotiations” class at a Law School.
At the beginning of the semester we were assessed for our way of being and it was a 50/50 split between humanists and sharks (my language). Humanists were open, transparent, and collaborative. Sharks were closed, not always forthcoming, and dominance-focused.
At the end of the semester there were only 2 humanists left, me and another woman. I was a nurse and she was a teacher. She and I were frequently called out as “win/win” negotiators and the instructors often remarked that that should be the gold standard.
So why did so many of the once humanists become sharks? Why is it that there were no sharks that became humanist? What keeps us from collaboration? Maybe because it was the 1990’s?
The poem and the variant are hope. Hope for our future. It is 2017 – almost 2018 – are we getting closer? In my world we are talking about it. In the world at large we can’t help but talk about it.
Thank you for the poem and variant! I am hopeful!