On being present: a Zen perspective.

摘要

What does it mean to "be in the moment, to be fully present?" These phrases are increasingly used as we attempt to further humanize the health care system and address issues of safety and quality, comfort, and care. For me, "being present" implies a relaxed control of myself and an acceptance of the fact that the past is gone and the future is not yet here, so best to lose myself in the present tasks at hand, like, preparing for a class, bathing a patient, comforting a family, conducting a staff meeting, or just walking down the hall. To be in the moment, to have lost the self in the act at hand is the highest form of self-composure and radiates to others. How often have you heard a patient describe the nurse who "is there for me; who looks at me, who focuses only on me when I am trying to tell my story?" Concomitantly, how often have you gotten complaints about the health care provider who is impersonal and hurried and who appears to care more about the technology to which patients are attached than about the patients themselves? I have a nurse educator colleague who conducts clinical simulations with the simple goal of getting new nurses to "look" at patients and to "sense" what they are experiencing. One of her test questions postsimulation is, "What color are your patient's eyes?" Many students cannot answer the question, but they get a perspective on how limited their focus might be during interactions with patients. There is so much to learn and so much to do in nursing practice that we need to find ways of thinking and being that will enhance our practice and the experiences of those for whom we care.