Turning inward – a compassionate response to caregiver wellbeing in the context of loss, grief and suffering
The APA QLD Neurology group has coordinated with the Bereavement Service of the QLD Children's Hospital to deliver a lecture discussing management of clinician grief and loss in a caregiving profession such as Physiotherapy.
This discussion will include:
- Encouraging participants to consider/ explore the concept of ‘turning inward' on our own experiences of confronting suffering in our personal and professional lives. To walk alongside someone who is suffering, or who is caring for someone who is suffering, we first need to have attended to our own thoughts, beliefs and experiences around these themes.
- An overview of how we construct our thinking around loss, grief and bereavement by normalising this experience and introducing a community capacity building framework.
- Introducing the Walking Alongside resource that covers themes such as vulnerability, hope, uncertainty and trust, and build an engaged conversation around these themes.
- Drawing on the previous conversations, we will explore how we can integrate these learnings within a series of case studies relevant to the APA audience.
Presenters
Alyson Gundry
Alyson is the Bereavement Coordinator – Paediatric Palliative Care Service at the Children's Health Queensland Bereavement Services. Since graduating as a social worker in early 1990's, Alyson's working life has spanned the breadth of the health and disability sectors including working in services supporting children, adults and the elderly with mental health, physical and/ or intellectual impairment. In 2012, Alyson commenced her current role as Bereavement Coordinator with Paediatric Palliative Care Services, Children's Health Queensland, in a job-share capacity with the session's co-presenter, Leigh Donovan. Witnessing the devastation experienced by families following the death of their child is heart-breaking. Equally, Alyson will attest that it is a privileged space to “lean into” the pain of loss by walking alongside grieving families whilst providing support and guidance. The challenge for all who work within caring careers is finding ways to nurture self. By doing the work of “reflecting inwards”, we can continue then to cultivate the resources which enable us to “show-up” and provide compassionate, professional and responsive clinical care.
Leigh Donovan
Dr Leigh Donovan is a Bereavement Coordinator at the Children's Health Queensland Bereavement Services.Leigh has become highly regarded in Australia for her contribution as a social worker to the field of paediatric bereavement. Leigh, in partnership with her job share colleague Alyson Gundry, held the inaugural position of Bereavement Coordinator, Paediatric Palliative Care Service, at the Queensland Children's Hospital Brisbane between 2010 and 2018 while also completing her PhD exploring the experience and needs of parents whose child has died from cancer. In 2017, Leigh was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to visit international hospital, hospice and community based bereavement programs with the aim to inform guidelines for bereavement care in tertiary children's hospitals in Australia. In 2019, Leigh became the inaugural Bereavement Coordinator for Children's Health Queensland Bereavement Services that launched in April 2020. Leigh is committed to integrating wellbeing into her personal and professional life and to sharing learnings and experiences from her own practice around the need to proactively practice self-compassion when walking alongside suffering.
Event location
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