Unwrap Education: Investing in Personal and Team Learning

Sharing warm and joyous wishes with you and your family during the holidays.

Travis, Chris, Heather, Farrah & Denise

In our days and nights, as caring professionals, and volunteers, it is easy to become depleted, particularly over the winter months. Research and real-life tell us that finding consistent ways of self-investment are essential for personal and professional well-being. Continued learning has been shown to have protective benefits such as increasing resilience and adaptability, strengthening interpersonal connection, and improving one’s sense of meaning (Tend Academy, 2021). ¹ As such, the Canadian Mental Health Association endorses education as a fundamental tool to promote mental health and wellness (CMHA, 2022).²

Learning knowledge and skills to meet the needs of our patients with life-limiting illness(es) and their families, in our places of work, directly benefits their health and well-being but also helps to make us more resilient health care providers. No matter where we work, or what our role, we always have something to learn about providing palliative care to enhance the care we provide.

Learning takes commitment: To yourself. Good learning experiences will build you up, and leave you renewed: whether it is by a new perspective, a deeper understanding, a better appreciation, or a broader set of resources to pull from.

Consider courses that:

• are relevant to you, especially when considering education that will enhance your professional practice
• allow opportunities to engage with, and learn from, others (perhaps attend with a colleague or group!)
• use credible learning strategies designed to help you achieve growth in your knowledge and skills.
• have self-directed components that allow you to work with your unique schedule

There are many reasons why we find ourselves in a learning opportunity – sometimes, we feel that we do not have a choice. In those moments, we do have the power to reframe those experiences for ourselves and find new perspectives or knowledge to take away from the experience (National Academy of Sciences, 2022).³

Resources

1. Tend Academy. (31 August 2021). Beyond Kale and Pedicures: Can we really beat burnout & compassion fatigue? https://www.tendacademy.ca/beyond-kale-and-pedicures/
2. Canadian Mental Health Association. (2022). cmha.ca
3. National Academy of Sciences. (2022). Clinician Well-being Knowledge Hub, Solutions: Individual Strategies. https://nam.edu/clinicianwellbeing/solutions/individual-strategies/

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