Class Descriptions

Communication Skills ClassGeorge Bernard Shaw once observed: “Ah yes, the problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR YOU … If you find yourself saying to your spouse or kids: “Of course I’m yelling, because it’s the only way I can get you to do anything!” /or/ “I talk and talk and no one is listening, that’s why I’m so tired and crabby.”

ACTIVE LISTENING

  • PRACTICE skills that will help to:Clarify what is really being said
  • Gather more information
  • Appreciate other points of view
  • Encourage reevaluation of one’s own perspective

Stephen R. Covey asked in his national best seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “What training or education have you had that enables you to listen so that you really, deeply understand another human being from that individual’s own frame of reference?”

Class is 90 minutes.

Cost for class $25 per person

Values History Workshop

“Hearing the Patient’s Voice: Values, Ethics and Mediation

  • Prevents double monologues
  • Allows others to feel safe while in dialogue
  • Develops trust so relationship can grow

A few years after passing the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA), a national study suggested that little attention was being paid to the values of patients, and families in end-of-life decision making. Today, there are still misunderstandings regarding advance directives and the patient’s values.“Values are the lived sources of meaning for a person, and they actively constitute a person’s history as they are put into words.” (Joan McIver Gibson, Ph.D. – National Values History Project)Workshop Goals

⬧ The interface of value and conflict and approaches to resolution.

⬧ Mechanisms to improve communication and collaboration among stakeholders.

⬧ Principles of mediation applied to healthcare conflict management.

By the End of this Workshop You will be able to …

⬧ Understand how values are important to conflict resolution.

⬧ Utilize skills that manage communication in hostile situations.

⬧ Apply mediation principles in order to facilitate the decision-making pathway.

⬧ Address the ethical issues and principles involved in end-of-life care.

⬧ Complete the Value History Instrument to attach to your Advance Directive.

“Where advance directives can be vague, a Values History allows the person to be understood not merely as a patient, but as a person with a system of beliefs, attitudes, and values that have shaped their lives.” (Mileva Saulo, EdD, RN)

This is a Half-Day Workshop, $50 per person

Robert J. Wagener, MA, MDiv is a seasoned mediator, and he also brings over 25 years of experience in the field of applied ethics. He has served as a consultant for Ethics Committees at UCSD Medical Center, UCSD Home Care, Kindred (Vencor) Hospital and various Hospice organizations in San Diego where he also worked as Chaplain and Bereavement Counselor. As a member of the faculty at the University of Phoenix, San Diego campus, he provided instruction in the areas of professional standards and ethics, communication skills, and conflict resolution.