Relational Ethics Is about respect Respect for ourselves

Relational Ethics Is about respect. Respect for ourselves and respect for others. It is about how we live our values and beliefs with other people – at work with our patients, their families other staff – at home with our own families, neighbours and friends. Mutual Respect is the basis for relational ethics. From Relational Ethics: The Full Meaning of Respect, Vangie Bergum and John Dossetor, 2005

Mutual Respect Not only about knowing ourselves but respecting the other person for their uniqueness – different values, culture, race, gender, attitudes, experiences and desires. As we try to know ourselves we keep asking ourselves the questions: Who am I? What do I believe? As we know ourselves and our values this allows us to grow and change in our response to others.

Relational Ethics Relational ethics is less about certainty and more about keeping ourselves open to our patients, their families and other staff so we can all make good ethical decisions.

Some Relational Ethics questions What are you (the patient, their family, other staff, myself) going through? How can I better understand what you are going through? What is the best thing (most fitting) to do in this situation? What are our options?

Collaboration Mutual respect is fundamental to collaboration. Collaboration is fundamental to good team work. In healthcare good team work is how we provide good care to our patients.

What does Collaboration look like? It is not easy to describe what good team work or collaboration looks like. We will get to understand what it is by understanding a bit more about what it is not.

Definition of Collaboration Interdisciplinary collaboration refers to the positive interaction of two or more health professionals, who bring their unique skills and knowledge, to assist patients/clients and families with their health decisions. Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT), 2005

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION Personal traits, education and life experiences affect our ability to collaborate. Looking at the way we individually, resist collaboration, is on of the hardest parts of team work. The following ideas on collaboration are adapted from The book Collaboration by Loughlan Sofield and Carroll Juliano.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 1. LOW SELF ESTEEM I don’t have confidence in myself – don’t use my talents and gifts Also leads to overcompetiveness in order to try and prove myself

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 2. ARROGANCE AND SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS This is when I really believe that I am better than others I then don’t see others gifts and talents and become a lone ranger Don’t seek any feedback from others so I don’t grow in self-awareness

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 3. BURNOUT If I suffer from burnout, I lack the energy to work as a team member – everything is harder to do If I suffer from burnout, no one will want to join my team or work with me Although having too much work can lead to burnout, having too high expectations of myself is a greater contributor

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 4. HOSTILITY Hostility is a behaviour, something I do. Anger is an emotion, something I feel. Anger is often a justifiable response. Hostility is not. When I am hostile I treat others as enemies or as barriers. When I don’t recognize that I am angry, I can become hostile.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 5. FAILURE TO DEAL WITH CONFLICT Conflict is part of life. When there is no conflict there is likely very little community or team. If I am to be a good collaborator or team person, I must deal with conflict as it arises and not just hope it will go away. If I don’t deal with conflict then I am not really collaborating.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 6. LACK OF FORGIVENESS Because there is conflict in life, I need to be able to forgive. Forgiveness is necessary for any team to be effective. If I don’t forgive, then I will not be open to the contributions of others on my team.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 7. FAILURE TO DEAL WITH LOSS I need to deal with loss and bereavement because if I get caught in complicated bereavement I will not be able to function for myself or in a team. A new experience of loss can release unfinished business from any past losses I may have.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 8. LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF GIFTS Knowing my gifts (what I have skills at) will help build a stronger team. Knowing the gifts of other team members will build more collaboration. If we don’t know our gifts as a team, we will struggle to truly collaborate.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 9. LACK OF SELF AWARENESS If I don’t know who I am, what I believe, what I feel about things, what my biases and prejudices are, I can not collaborate as well. I can better know myself by talking about my own values and looking at how I live them out in my life.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION 10. LEARNED HELPLESSNESS If I have an attitude that I am constantly a victim, I will become hopeless. Hopelessness is more than thinking things will not work out for me, it’s about thinking that I will never be able to understand what is happening in my life. If I feel helpless and hopeless I believe that I can not, and others can not, change for the better.

OBSTACLES TO COLLABORATION Are there other things that you think you do that are obstacles to collaboration?