I had a bad river-rafting trip once. Actually, it was my last river rafting trip and it took place a few years ago on the McKenzie River, near Eugene, Oregon. I'd been on that river before with a trusted friend and skilled river guide. We worked as a team, with his expert guidance. This time the person directing the raft was someone else with less skill and less judgment, and who did all the paddling. Have I mentioned that I am a proponent of teamwork?
To make a long story short, the climax of the trip was getting caught in Brown's Hole. Picture this... three desperate mice clinging onto an inflated soap dish in a washing machine set in the spin cycle. I think you get the drift... While we did provide some captivating, and apparently humorous entertainment to some kids standing on the near-by boulders, my only thought at the time was... well, I actually had two thoughts - "I'm going to die"; and "How do I get out of this situation?". Creativity went the way of the broken paddle. We clung on to our increasingly damaged raft with all our might, throwing ourselves from side to side, trying to stabilize things. Eventually, the river tired of us, and my next awareness was that of being tossed into the air (and out of the raft). In the brief moment before hitting the water, I remember thinking one thing, OK, two things... "I’m going to die", and "Get back into that raft as soon as possible."
When I surfaced in the VERY COLD water, I gratefully realized that the raft was within reach. Obviously, I lived to tell the story... and if I hadn't been so scared, and so cold, this could have been a thrilling ride. When I related the story to my sons later, they were almost envious. All I can say is thank goodness for lifejackets.
The memory popped into my head tonight for some reason, and I reflected that sometimes working in health care feels a little like being in that raft in Brown's Hole... spinning around and around, and being tossed from side to side, desperately trying to hold on. In these types of situations, creativity is abruptly replaced with an intense focus on survival.
In his book, "The Consultant's Journey" Roger Harrison, makes the point that organizations are so inundated with non-stop change, and people are so change weary, that what is needed instead of change agents are "facilitators of healing". I think he makes a good point. What I'm realizing once again is the incredible importance of relationship building in any change effort. Relationship building and breathing. We need to find ways to acknowledge and appreciate each other and breathe and reflect upon the work that is being done. We also need to find ways to reduce anxiety whenever possible. These things seem like luxuries sometimes, but they are just as essential as efficient processes.
