We make sense of our lives through stories.
Vision:
We envision a world in which the global community of healthcare workers harness the power of storytelling, bearing witness, and group reflection to rediscover the connection and meaning in their work.
Mission:
Our mission is to build, produce, and facilitate storytelling events for those working within the interprofessional landscape of healthcare. Engaging with local, national, and international communities, the PSE creates intentional gathering spaces to share and reflect, fostering wellbeing and easing suffering through storytelling.
What’s in the name?
We are palliative care clinicians and this work began with interprofessional palliative care clinicians. However, since our inception our mission and impact have since expanded. The word “palliative” has a deeper meaning than the provision of palliative care services. It’s Latin root, pallium, means “to cloak.” That is exactly what our Story Exchanges do. They cloak participants in meaning, community, affirmation, and connection. No matter your reason for joining, we believe you will leave with a full heart and a sense of renewal.
Background & Logistics
The problem.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, palliative care finds itself in a workforce crisis. Even before 2020, seriously ill patients surpassed the supply of palliative care clinicians. While the reasons for this are complex, palliative care clinicians face high levels of patient loss and can be affected by unprocessed grief.
The opportunity.
In response to the workforce crisis, the need for community, and the distress we all can face in this work, we created The Palliative Story Exchange. While this work was formed out of our mutual love of writing and storytelling, it is grounded in the evidence-based benefits of reflective writing to promote self-awareness, empathy, and sustainability.
How it works.
We have always been intentional in setting up the Story Exchange. One month prior to the event we invite all who may attend to consider reading a story of their own. Rather than giving a directive prompt or theme, we have had tremendous success encouraging storytellers to reflect on what has moved them in recent months, be it at work or at home. We ask, “What can you not stop thinking about?”
How it began.
The Palliative Story Exchange began as a virtual 90-minute event which Ricky and Alexis facilitated (and continue to run) every quarter for all interprofessional palliative care clinicians at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
How stories are told.
To decrease barriers and ensure readers do not feel that they must “perform,” we encourage all stories to be written down and read. This is different than other existing storytelling events. While we initially worried that this could feel dry compared to live performances, we find each reader has their own cadence, tone, and emotions. The stories are captivating.
Reflection.
Both on Zoom and in person we marvel at how each group’s connectedness emerges. Much of this is because of the vulnerability in the stories shared, and the reflective space we create. We ask participants to reflect together on what resonated with them. This unguarded dialogue flattens hierarchies and increases connection, fostering moments of significant resonance and healing.