Approaches to Behavior by Janis Roszler

Author:Janis Roszler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: American Diabetes Association
Published: 2014-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

The Takeaway

You and your patients can approach your emotions in new and more meaningful and effective ways.

7

It Takes a Village

Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.

—Edward Morgan Forster

In this chapter, you will learn the following:

● How to utilize the strengths of group participants to enhance learning

In January 2005, Janis took a taxi from her hotel in Jerusalem to the nearby Yad Sarah center to speak at the monthly meeting of the lay division of the Israel Diabetes Association. Everything that could have gone wrong did. First, the weather—the rain that evening was so heavy that her shoes and dress became saturated as she dashed from the cab to the entrance of the building. The center only had an ancient laptop that couldn’t run her slides. Additionally, the translator for the evening was running late due to heavy traffic. As awful as the evening should have been, it ended up being one of the highlights of Janis’ career. That’s because working with groups is not only about the information one shares, it is also about the connections that are made. Despite the language barrier, which could have turned this presentation into a noninteractive lecture, Janis communicated her warmth and affection to all who came that evening (the room was packed!), and the attendees shared their warmth and energy with her as well as with each other. Using her limited Hebrew, she engaged everyone in a discussion about diabetes eating challenges—what worked for them and what didn’t. When the translator and replacement laptop finally arrived, Janis shared the rest of her presentation and ended the evening with a wonderfully interactive question–answer period.

If you lead diabetes education classes, you probably stand up in front of groups, present information, lead a meaningful question–answer period, and then say goodbye. If you have additional time, you may incorporate some creative hands-on experiences, use visual aids, or even invite attendees to participate in a few team exercises. All of these methods disseminate valuable information participants can use.

We’d like to help you take these interactions to the next level and enhance the communication and learning that goes on during each session. Ongoing support groups, single drop-in educational sessions, lectures, and even shared medical appointments (which are growing in popularity) can be more than simply cost-effective ways to get facts and resources to a larger number of people in a limited amount of time. If run well, they can provide opportunities for everyone present to communicate in ways that differ from face-to-face sessions. Participants not only can learn new skills but also can discuss their feelings, share their emotional responses to diabetes and its care tasks, teach others, develop supportive relationships, and begin to feel more hopeful and capable.

Those who attend are not the only ones who benefit from educational and supportive group gatherings. The professionals who run them gain as well. When we present a topic once to a group rather than multiple times in face-to-face sessions, we reduce our risk of becoming bored.

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