Story Cultivation

Stories and the Voice of Nursing

I realized the importance of stories while working in the healthcare industry. Myself and the other nurses spent so much time with our patients that we rarely interacted with each other and morale around the department was low. In an industry focused around caring for others and fostering relationships with our patients, nurses were miserable, overworked and under-heard. 

Giving nurses the voice they needed to tell their stories created a community of open dialogue and new ideas that fundamentally changed the way our department operated. Nurses finally had a platform where they were encouraged to share and discuss best practices. We were leading from the bottom up and generating this culture of leadership through story. Because nurses were finally shown the recognition they so greatly deserved, we were able to improve the quality of care and better predict outcomes of our patients. 

Tell your story

In addition to story cultivation, I'm a host for Conversation Café: an organization that seeks to host big idea conversations where anyone is welcome to join. The idea is to facilitate a dynamic conversation and promote neighborliness and deep thinking. 

Act your truth

But what about story telling and acting? They go together perfectly; just look at Playback Theatre. It's a place of improvisational theater in which people tell stories and watch them enacted on the spot. I was an actor, musician and conductor in this theatrical storytelling form for a decade in two different ensembles.