117 A NM intervention on the OB-GYN work floor using site-specific poetry “It’s interesting how a poem can illuminate our daily activities. It makes you think about how you say certain things or how certain things come across to a patient” (social worker) For example, one participant talked about a phrase, repeated multiple times in the poem: “Research indicates”—in relation to her own conversations with patients: ‘I think it’s used as a cover for ourselves like I have the feeling to reassure the patient” (physician) “I don’t know the answer either, you can tell people about the situation in another way than just repeating the phrase ‘research indicates’” (physician) During the NM session discussions, multiple participants stated they found the site-specific poem interesting and helpful to facilitate discussion about sensitive topics like shame, feeling unseen, a sense of belonging, and gender inequity because it could be interpreted and connected to their own professional experiences and interactions in a variety of ways. For example, some participants talked about gender inequity and transgender isues, after reading the poem: “Truly, I understand that there are people who struggle with gender identity. I also have a friend who seriously wanted to be a woman and has had surgery. It’s really a process that takes years and years. But I, myself hate those general toilets. I remember that from the past, when you went out at the age of fifteen you want some privacy in the toilet. You can’t force women. They don’t want to be bothered by those guys in the toilet, do they?” (patient) “Well. I have a daughter who has been telling me for a year that she/he feels more like a boy and would rather be a man. My daughter is still in that grey zone, and he said to me at the campsite, ‘well, which toilet should I go to now? I’m turned away from the women’s toilet, but I don’t want to go to the men’s toilet yet because there are only those big men there’, so he needed a gender-neutral toilet. He was very happy that at some point we came to a campsite where everything was just mixed”. (physician) Also, a participant spoke about her daughter being bullied and ignored: “Nowadays people can write a lot about being accepted as you are. But my reflection is about my daughter being bullied at school. My demand is that she gets love from other people instead of bullying. That others accept it as it is. That she dares to take her place in the world. ‘Here I am’. So that’s it.” (nurse) In the follow-up interviews, almost all participants mentioned they’d thought about the poem after the session. Their specific reasons for remembering it varied, but as some interviewee stated: “Even more attention for the person behind the patient/request for help. Thinking more about what a story or art form does to me personally” (medical student) “Inspiration. Awareness. Attention to the patient. Proud of my profession”. (nurse) 7
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw