Kaiser Permanente, Northern California

Caritas in ActionHow Caring Science informs and inspires KP caregivers and affirms our commitment to provide our

patients and their families exceptional care

Caritas Consortium 2013Blessings: Creating a Transpersonal Caring Moment

Page 2

Intent to Contribute Statement:Purpose: The purpose of this project is to develop awareness among Patient Care Coordinators of how a transpersonal

caring moment can be created at the bedside with our patients. This project will assist in encouraging reflection on

individual caring practices with fresh eyes and the intent of heightening Caritas consciousness through the use of self

in the creation of a transpersonal healing environment. (Watson, 2008)

Project Description: A brief presentation was given to the Patient Care Coordinators and Managers of the Resource

Management Department in order to provide an overview of the blessings project. Everyone who participated in this

presentation was encouraged to examine the patterns and processes of their interactions with patients as they carried

out such components of their professional roles such as the completion of the Initial Discharge Assessment. Through

this discussion, a number of ways one communicates were identified. Such as: being aware of one’s body language,

listening to the tone and pace of one’s voice, critiquing the choice of words used and, as Jean Watson describes,

reading the “phenomenal field," (Watson, 2008, pg. 79) or, in other words, heightening one’s awareness of what is

going on with and around the patient in the moment. In addition, Caritas literature was made available to each

participant, including: Core Concepts and Caritas Processes™ of Jean Watsons Theory of Human/Caring Science,

Centering Exercises, Creation of a Transpersonal Caring Moment, Caritas Consciousness, and Caritas Processes™ #1.

Cultivating the Practice of Loving-Kindness and Equanimity Toward Self and Other. #4. Developing and Sustaining a

Helping-Trusting Caring Relationship. (Watson, 2008).

Blessings: Creating a Transpersonal Caring Moment

Page 3

Con’t:Project Description: After the initial class, individual and group discussions were held to deepen understanding of

additional strategies that could be used to create a transpersonal caring moment during completion of the initial

discharge planning assessment. Examples were provided of scripted spoken kind words" or blessings. With these

examples in mind, the Patient Care Coordinators were encouraged to move beyond the scripts when they were ready

to express and create from their own hearts a blessing or "spoken kind words” with an individual patient focus.

Projected Outcome: This project is still in process and evolving. From a very personal measure, the projected outcome

of the creation of a blessing for the patient is a renewed sense of meaning and experience of the joy of what it means

to practice heart-focused nursing care. A total of 30 patient blessings have been performed since the project began.

No patient refused the blessing and several patients reported experiencing something beyond their expectation. All

patients gave overwhelming positive feedback.

Blessings: Creating a Transpersonal Caring Moment

Inspired Contributor(s) 1 : Joan Adam – Caritas Coach

------Service Area: East BayMedical Center: Oakland Affiliation: PCS------Year Shared: 2013Venue: Caritas ConsortiumFormat: PosterID #: n/a

Page 41 Names as listed in Lotus Notes, otherwise personal e-mails indicated

Keyword TAGs: Identifier

Consortium2013-July, East Bay, Oakland, Poster, Caritas Coach, Patient Care Services

Healing Environment, Self, Patients/Families

Descriptor Caring Moment

Blessings: Creating a Transpersonal Caring Moment

Page 5

Blessings: Creating a Transpersonal Caring Moment