Episode 006: Jonathan Bartels, Resiliency, Ritual and Compassion in Medicine

My guest in Episode 006 of A Medicinal Mind: Wisdom and Well Being is a dear friend and mentor Jonathan Bartels. As you will hear in our conversation, my friendship with Jonathan was sparked by my curious inquiry into meditation, self care and what really existed outside of my medical school walls. What ensued following a single morning of meditation was a relationship built on appreciation, nourishment and growth.

Jonathan has over 31 years of professional experience in the healthcare field. For the past 19 years he has practiced as a Registered Nurse.  Eleven of which were spent working in the University Of Virginia Health System’s Level I Emergency Department.  He presently works as a Palliative Care Liaison nurse.  Jonathan’s educational background includes Graduate coursework in Eastern Philosophy and Western Mysticism at Western Michigan University (1991-1993), BA in Psychology from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY (1990) and BSN from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY (1997).  In 2009 Jonathan started a practice that helped transform how death is approached in healthcare both nationally and internationally. This practice is now known as The Pause.  

In this practice, healthcare providers are invited to silently honor the loss of life as a shared community that embraces diversity in unity through silence.  
While not a panacea, it has been instrumental at pointing to a greater need in healthcare: that in caring for others, one should not forsake self-care, compassion and resiliency. 
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Since 2009 Jon has been a founding member of The Compassionate Care Initiative and co-facilitator for resiliency retreats offered at the University of Virginia’s  School of Nursing.  These retreats focus on a variety of practices aimed at promoting the skills of resiliency, the importance of compassion, and the vital need for self-care. 
In this episode we discuss:
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1. Jonathan's amazing background, life story and journey through healthcare as an innovative thinker and engaged nurse.
2. The story behind the creation of the silent ritual “The Pause,” and its role in honoring the life that was lost and the efforts of the healthcare workers involved attempting to preserve it.
3. The importance of cultivating resilience in medicine through the deliberate practice of self care, meditation, ritual and communal conversation.
4. How organizations like the University of Virginia School of Nursing’s Compassionate Care Initiative is tackling burnout in its students at an institutional and community level.
5. The role of interprofessional collaboration among healthcare workers as a way to improve well being as well as overall patient care.

To follow Jonathan and the University of Virginia's School of Nursing’s Compassionate Care Initiative see the links below

Compassionate Care Initiative: https://cci.nursing.virginia.edu
Video: The Pause: https://vimeo.com/143628865
The Pause: https://thepause.me/2015/10/01/test-post-2/

Hear More of Jonathan

Jonathan's Keynote Address: The Pause and Resiliency as part of the
University of Virginia's Compassionate Care Student Ambassador Sponsored
Self-Care Day. 

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