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Humanities
- ISSN: 2155-7993
- Journal of Modern Education Review
Experiencing Renewal as Palliative Care Clinicians through Teaching Reflective Practice: Learning from Our Learners
Jennifer D. Moore1,2, Patricia Daines1
(1. Palliative Care Consult Team, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Canada; 2. Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family
and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Canada)
Abstract: A rotation in Palliative Medicine presents an opportunity for learners to confront and express their, often powerful, emotions when witnessing the suffering of others. In an effort to promote reflection and self-awareness for our learners during a month-long rotation in Palliative Medicine, we developed a reflective practice module incorporating reflective writing as a key element. An unexpected outcome of this endeavor was how we, the teachers, were positively impacted by our learners’ writings. We explore research in palliative care and psychology to frame how sharing stories may benefit the listener. We consider how reading and responding to the reflective writings of palliative medicine learners promotes renewal and encourages ongoing professional identity formation in palliative care educators. Excerpts of learners’ writings are shared as we discuss their impact on us as educators, and the potential for such narratives to promote renewal in palliative care work.
Key words: palliative care, self-care, medical education
