Wednesday, 27 February 2013

We're Moving!

Starting immediately, the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance blog will move to a permanent home on the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance website!

Please update your RSS feeds accordingly!

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sacha Geer, Knowledge Translation Specialist at sgeer@uwaterloo.ca

We look forward to seeing you there!

Monday, 11 February 2013

Partnerships in Dementia Care (PiDC) Alliance's Culture Change Process Webinar

Spurred by the interest in the Culture Change process, the PiDC Alliance recently partnered with the Alzheimer Knowledge Exchange to create and produce a webinar in which PiDC Alliance researchers, Drs Darla Fortune and Sacha Geer shared experiences in facilitating culture change through Appreciative Inquiry.  Though finished, the online PiDC Alliance Webinar is available to view free of charge.

In the webinar, the team outlined the need for culture change and detailed the 5-stage process of Appreciative Inquiry to improve the culture of care for all individuals involved in the dementia care process. This webinar focused on the first stage of the culture change process, “Dawning” in which Culture Change Coalitions are established and Authentic Relationships are forged.

Attendees of the webinar included long term care practitioners, policy makers, family partners in care and representatives from various primary care groups as well as other dementia researchers.  Feedback about this Dawning phase, a methodological and theoretical creation based on early research done by the PiDC Alliance, has been very positive. Although “Dawning” is not a regular part of older Appreciative Inquiry methods, it is significant in laying down a solid foundation for the rest of the Appreciative Inquiry stages.

The PiDC Alliance plans to hold another webinar on the second phase of Appreciative Inquiry, "Discovery", in the late summer or early fall. Stay tuned!

Thursday, 7 February 2013

Yee Hong’s February Meeting – What are your strengths?

The members of the Yee Hong’s Culture Change Coalition shared an afternoon of collaboration and celebration in preparation of the “Discovery” phase of their Appreciative Inquiry culture change process.  The team will enter this second phase of the journey over the course of the next several months.

The members first interviewed each other to identify individual strengths, skills they were proud of and some of their hidden talents. Identifying strengths is a key component of the second Discovery portion of the Appreciative Inquiry process.  The room was filled with laughter and conversation.  Each CCC member learned about and shared the strengths of their partners with the larger group. To celebrate the festivity of Chinese New Year, members took turn in guessing each other’s Chinese Zodiac based on their strengths. One key take-away from this experience was the emphasis of teamwork, that our diversity is an asset that allows us to achieve more.

Based on our strengths approach, we also determined Yee Hong’s strengths as an organization. The group members felt a strong desire to establish a culture that continues to focus on quality of care, with attention given to values similar to Yee Hong’s core values, such as respect, compassion, commitment and excellence. Yee Hong’s CCC looks forward to bringing forth the positive transformations in Yee Hong!

Find your Chinese Zodiac animal below and see if your own personal strengths match up! 
 
 
Chinese Zodiac
Description
Rat
Smart, well-liked, courageous, friendly, observant
Ox
Determined, truthful, motivated, genuine, brave
Tiger
Energetic, engaging, protective, charming, hopeful
Rabbit
Calm, considerate, keen, wise, supportive
Dragon
Innovative, flexible, passionate, brave, ambitious
Snake
Attractive, graceful, intelligent, willful, insightful
Horse
Joyful, outgoing, humorous, practical, friendly
Ram
Peaceful, smart, easygoing, happy, artistic
Monkey
Curious, clever, fun, responsible, imaginative
Rooster
Confident, trustworthy, hardworking, loyal, sociable
Dog
Giving, compassionate, supportive, determined, reliable
Pig
Patient, thoughtful, helpful, forgiving, peacemaker
Image from:
Chinese zodiac years [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.angelfire.com/moon/silverbamboo/images/zodiac.gif

Ho, Judy. (2013). Chinese Zodiac Legends. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from
http://www.angelfire.com/moon/silverbamboo/page2.html
 
Table developed from information gathered at:
Chinese horoscopes: The dragon. Retrieved February 6, 2013, from
http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/Dragon.htm