Tony Back & Cynda Hylton Rushton: 05-21-2014: Transforming Helplessness in the Face of Suffering

Summary: Episode Description: This joint Dharma talk, offered during Upaya's Being with Dying program, centers around the universal feeling of helplessness, the feeling of "not being able to help myself or others," with particular focus on how helplessness impacts the health care system. Cynda begins the talk by presenting a clinical case in which helplessness arose in both caregivers and family members. She draws upon this case to discuss how we carry helplessness in our bodies and feelings, and also to discuss the profound personal and systemic consequences of unrelieved helplessness. Tony then addresses ways in which helplessness can be transformed. He suggests that two particular processes are crucial, which can be developed in our contemplative practice. The first process involves becoming more aware of our experiences of helplessness and how these experiences progress in our bodies and minds. The second process involves taking a "metacognitive perspective" on situations of helplessness. This view of a situation "as if from outside" can help us to reevaluate and transform the situation. Tony also addresses a practical model of working with helplessness, called RENEW: Recognize helplessness, Embrace helplessness, Nourish yourself, Embody constructive engagement, and Weave a new response. Cynda finally applies these transformational tools to the clinical case with which she opened the talk. Bio: Tony Back, MD, is Director of Palliative Care at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, an outpatient consultation service, and Professor of Medicine/Oncology at the University of Washington. His academic research focuses on improved patient-clinician communication. He is also head of a gastrointestinal oncology practice in the Seattle area, and an Affiliate Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Back received his bachelor’s degree from the Humanities Honors Program at Stanford University and his MD from Harvard Medical School. Cynda Hylton Rushton, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Anne and George L. Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics and Professor of Nursing and Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University and the Berman Institute of Bioethics. She is also Program Director for the Harriet Lane Compassionate Care Program. A clinician, educator, researcher and advocate for compassionate health care with nearly 30 years of nursing experience, Dr. Rushton’s work focuses on clinical ethics, palliative and end-of-life care, particularly for children, as well as integrated organizational change and leadership. She has led numerous initiatives to cultivate contemplative practices that foster awareness, inquiry and resilience in complex health care settings and to address the detrimental effects of moral distress on clinicians, patients and families. She received her nursing degrees from the University of Kentucky and Medical University of South Carolina,and her doctorate in nursing from the Catholic University of America with a concentration in bioethics. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow.