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Have you ever wondered if there is a better way to provide compassionate patient care?

There is! Let me teach you how to C.A.R.E.

  • Your staff is frustrated trying to create individualize plans of care
  • Survey results are low on the "listened and showed respect for the patient" section
  • Staff is burned out, not engaged, bullying each other, and generally not happy
  • The external factors of healthcare are making it seem impossible to provide the care you know your staff is capable of
  • You're so frustrated, you're considering leaving the profession

Imagine if...

You care about your patients, and you know your staff cares too. Healthcare is complicated, and it feels like everything is working against being able to deliver compassionate care. A shift in perspective can bring everything you do as a nurse into focus. That shift is putting compassion at the center of everything you do.

  • Going home at the end of your shift - tired for sure - but feeling satisfied that you could deliver compassionate care

  • Your staff will feel accomplished at pulling together a plan of care that is actually meaningful, and something the patient can follow

  • Your staff will begin the process of developing a team of respected colleagues, proud of themselves and their unit.

  • Your patients will feel heard, understood, and respected. They will know that whatever happens, you and your staff care about them and will give them the best possible care.

What are the steps of C.A.R.E.?

C.A.R.E. is a four step process that leads you through the feeling of empathy for others - the intention to help - to a meaningful and effective way to take action that will help

  • Who does C.A.R.E. apply to?

    When we center compassion in everything we do, we find that C.A.R.E. first applies to you - self-compassion is the key to self-care. Then we can apply the steps with our co-workers, and our patients and their families. Following the four step process makes this possible.

  • Connect

    Connection is what human beings need, thrive on, and long for. When we connect with others, we feel a sense of security, trust, being understood, and belonging. We need a sense of connection to ourselves, our co-workers, and our patients to feel heard, understood, and safe.

  • Assess

    Assessment is what nurses do best, and we’re going to take our assessment skills to the next level. We'll be asking asking a simple question: "What matters to you?" To better understand ourselves, our co-workers, and our patients to better know who they are as people.

  • Respond

    We respond instead of react. Responding comes from a place of our values, seeing the situation as it is without judgement, and treating everyone with respect and dignity. Our goal is to treat the other person the way they wish to be treated.

  • Evaluate

    No nursing process would be complete without spending a moment on evaluating the interaction. Did our interventions work? We can also add looking at how well we were able to connect with our patients, were we able to assess their situation honestly, and respond to them with compassion? Did our co-workers and patients feel hear?

  • Ending

    We'll add a bit more to the "E" by ending our shift and leaving work behind peacefully. A better way is to end not only the shift, but each encounter we find ourselves in. We can relieve a lot of stress by doing our best in each encounter, then letting the situation go and move on to the next situation.

Your Instructor

"I believe that compassion is the cure for the problems of healthcare. Compassion is not a luxury, it's essential for healthcare and the world."

President/CEO Cheryl Barnes-Neff

Cheryl Barnes-Neff has been a Registered Nurse for over forty years, with decades of management and quality improvement experience. She’s worked in a variety of healthcare settings from neo-natal intensive care to hospice care, working in at the bedside, in Quality Management, Education, and as a front line manager. Her proposal is that our care model should be Compassion Centered C.A.R.E. Centering compassion applies compassion to ourselves, our co-workers, and to our patients and their families.

Featured In

University of Central Florida
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
CLOSLER
Interfaith Council of Central Florida
Harvard Divinity School

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