The Spectrum Office will be closed Wednesday July 1st ______________________________________________________________________
Focusing on What We are Here for…Collaboration – “I am on Your Side”
Spectrum coordinator and Mandt trainer Susan Wilson offers her suggestions for working toward collaborative solutions during times of stress
Collaboration: the situation of two or more people working together to create or achieve the same thing.
(from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
We are not here just for the easy days. The days where people hear our advice and they have a high desire to cooperate and believe our interest in their safety; where they see the evidence of what is going on all around them. We are here to support people through their difficult days as well.
Due to the isolation and change of routines that people have been experiencing we might start noticing a rise in stress levels, both for the people we support and for the people who support them. For all of us.
Some of the people that I support are noticing people out and about doing the activities of daily living and having fun again and they are trying to figure out what that means for them. There is no longer any strong evidence that there is something different happening, so they may not understand our desires and plans to keep them safe. This means the cooperation and collaboration will start to be more and more challenging to maintain. The result of this is that tensions and conflict might rise for all of us.
The best way to come to a positive outcome is for you to understand what the other person’s needs are and the reasons behind the other person’s requests and actions. What we want to work toward is collaboration and cooperation. One way to do this is working towards a win – win for the person. Here is one of the tools that I adapted from the Mandt System that you might be able to use to help with that.
- Clearly identify the needs of each person. Included in that are your own needs and desires. Make sure you clearly identify what you are trying to achieve. The Mandt system teaches us “in inviting cooperation: the best way to gain cooperation is to tell the person the reason behind the request.” So please know the reasons behind what you want to achieve as well why those reasons are important to you.
- View the problem from the other person’s point of view. I find it helpful if I write this out for myself.
- Recognize the problems that come up and work on the problems…not on changing the person or making the person feel wrong.
- Build the relationship through understanding and communicating that we are on the same side. Let them know that you want to get them toward what they are trying to achieve. Ask for patience and if they truly believe you are not in conflict “with them” they might believe that you are interested in truly helping them.
- Know that this may take some time and multiple tries.
- Compromise and negotiate if you need to. What part of this can you help with? What are some alternate strategies?
Know that even if you try all this, the person will have their own desires and drives. They have their own history where people who have supported them have stood in their way rather than helped them. We all know how that feels, it makes us want to avoid the potential obstacles and just get our needs met on our own, most likely in an escalated way. Think about any other trusted people that they know who can help them work through this or any community resources that can help. Sometimes if the person we are supporting can work things through with another person who is trusted and is not directly part of the situation, they can feel more at peace with the result.
Most of all, if you feel like “whew, that was a difficult day…” understand that this was their difficult day. You can feel best about yourself if you did something, even small, to make it better.
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If your Emergency First Aid Community Care Training has expired we have good news!
St. John Ambulance (SJA) has resumed Emergency First Aid Community Care training.
To accommodate the new distancing regulations, SJA has reduced class sizes, provides full body mannequins to remove the need of partner activities, and is selling masks for students to wear during the course. Spectrum can provide you with a cloth mask prior to you attending the course. If you choose to purchase a mask through SJA for $12.99, you can do so separately on the day you attend the course.
If you have already obtained your certificate, please forward a copy of your certificate to the office so we may update your file.
If you have not obtained your first aid certification, please register yourself and email me (judy@spectrumsociety.org) please, letting me know the date you have registered to complete the course.
How to Register for Emergency First Aid Community Care:
- Call St. John Ambulance: (604) 321-7242
- They above number is their main line, but they have a number of locations across the lower mainland if you would like to call a location directly: http://www.sja.ca/English/About-Us/Pages/Locations.aspx
- Register yourself for Emergency First Aid Community Care.
If you did not have your first aid certificate upon hire, you are responsible for the initial cost, which is currently $102.00, and Spectrum covers renewal fees.
- If you are renewing your first aid, ask St. John Ambulance to invoice Spectrum Society
- Let them know Spectrum Society will be paying for your course fee.
*St. John Ambulance may request authorization from Spectrum. Email hr@spectrumsociety.org with the date/location you want to complete the course and we will call them to confirm your registration.
First Aid is a requirement for employment as indicated in ‘Policy 4: Requirements for Employment.’
If requirements for employment are not met within a timely manner, shifts will be suspended without pay until this requirement is met. Below is a link to Spectrum’s First Aid policy:
Please respond back with your course date by August 1st, 2020.
Please let Judy know if you have any questions or issues registering, by emailing her at judy@spectrumsociety.org
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“We want masks to become a regular part of our transit system,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.
“As part of our Safe Operating Action Plan we are recommending customers wear a face covering or mask while on transit or waiting for transit, if they are able to do so.
“If we can get to a point where most people on transit are wearing a face covering or mask, then it will be a safer experience for everyone.”
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For employees on our SunLife Group Benefits plan:
A reminder to staff that our SunLife benefits now include access to virtual doctor’s appointments and prescription deliveries.
Through Lumino Health Virtual Care, plan members can access a virtual“walk-in” service and connect with medical professionals, including nurses, doctors and others. The service is available via mobile and tablet apps and a website. By connecting with health-care providers virtually, plan members can get the care they need while supporting physical distancing efforts and reducing the strain on our health care system.
About 70% of walk-in clinic cases are suitable for Lumino Health Virtual Care. The service is available 24/7, as long as you are within Canada. You can consult other health professionals (e.g. nutritionists) for an additional fee.
To take advantage of this service, have your SunLife group contract and member ID numbers ready, to register before you login.
Let’s all do our part to practice physical distancing and live healthier lives.
You can learn more about Lumino Health Virtual Care by visiting www.sunlife.ca/luminovc .
There is a frequently asked questions page here:
https://www.sunlife.ca/static/canada/Sponsor/About%20Group%20Benefits/Focus%20Update/2020/957/Lumino%20Health%20Virtual%20Care%20FAQ%20EN.pdf
Have you tried this service?
Do you have a family doctor that offers virtual appointments so don’t need this service?
Are you interested in having this service included in our benefits for some future need that might arise for you and your family?
Here is an article about Canadians across the country and their experience of virtual doctor’s appointments:
Almost half of Canadians have now accessed a physician using virtual-care options and are highly satisfied with the results, according to a new survey by the Canadian Medical Association.
The poll, conducted by Abacus Data between May 14 and 17, found those who’ve connected with their doctor virtually during the coronavirus pandemic reported a 91 per cent satisfaction rate — 17 points higher than in-person emergency room visits.
Moving forward, almost half (46 per cent) of Canadians who had the opportunity to use virtual care since the pandemic outbreak said they’d prefer a virtual method as a first point of contact with their doctor.
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We’re all born naturally playful, curious and imaginative, but as we add responsibilities, experience and anxiety to our lives we can begin to lose the things that, as one person put it, made thinking like a kid a superpower. But we can regain some of those old “superpowers”, and benefit ourselves, and others, in the process. Here are three things that tapping into a child-like mindset each day can do for us:
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