Fostering a Sense of Community at Clarian: Engaging the Arts

Fostering a Sense of Community at Clarian: Engaging the Arts will provide an opportunity for physicians, nurses, administrators and educators who work at Clarian Health to gather and acquire the skills of reflective practice through storytelling and other forms of artistic expression. The gatherings will take place during four biannual one and one-half day retreats and monthly "brown-bag" meetings designed to keep retreat participants connected between meetings. We believe a commitment to at least two retreats and the monthly meetings will be of greatest value but welcome all who would like to participate to any of the retreats and meetings.

The biannual retreats will begin with dinner, during which we will introduce ourselves to one another and begin reflecting on the experiences we may wish to shape into stories. The following day will consist of a large group gathering in the morning and afternoon and facilitated breakout sessions during which time we will explore our stories and use various media (prose, poetry, water color, collage, mosaic making, and music) to share our stories in new ways. We believe by focusing our stories on the dilemmas that confront us daily we may better support one another.

During the gatherings we will organize our stories around questions similar to the following:

• When have I demonstrated skills of compassion (empathy) as well as technical competence?
• What relationships with other health care providers allow me to provide the best care?
• In what ways do I care for myself as I care for a person with a terminal illness?
• Who do I include in conversations when I perceive medical care as futile, and why?

The facilitators include members of the Relationship-Centered Care Initiative of the Indiana University School of Medicine, faculty of the IUPUI Medical Humanities Program and Music Therapy program, writers of the Writer's Center of Indiana, and local visual artists.

The monthly gatherings will develop based on the emerging interests and passions of retreat participants. We will encourage participants' creative ideas about format, content and process of these monthly gatherings. In addition, occasional readings or displays of creative works will be arranged to welcome others to join us in the exploration of our stories.

Fostering a Sense of Community at Clarian: Engaging the Arts was developed by members of the Relationship-Centered Care Initiative of the Indiana University School of Medicine with the generous support of a Clarian Values Grant.