A view on 2019 at Presence

Welcome to our very first newsletter! We have much news to share.

#news #presence

In this newsletter, read about Presence practices, our exciting edited collection (book) on Presence in Nursing, the IASSIDD conference presentation, our discussion forum during April this year, and Dr Guus Timmerman’s visit. You are encouraged to visit and contribute to the Caring Presence Facebook page, and we bring you an update regarding the NRF funding for our research. Enjoy the newsletter!

Presence practices

Our main research outputs are two sets of Presence practices, one from data collection at rural hospitals, and one from data collection at an aftercare centre for intellectually disabled patients. These presence practices ‘spoke to one another’, and are combined, using our acronym, DREAM. Please view our DREAM guidelines on our Resources page and spread the word and let us know what you think!

Edited collection (book) on presence

We received an invitation from the Cambridge Scholars Publishing company to publish a book on Presence. Our collaborators, including research leaders in Presence, researchers and post-graduate students will contribute to this book. In our proposal to Cambridge Scholars Publishing, we wrote the following about the book:

Presence is essential in a relational profession such as nursing. Presence means to attune to and connect with another for the purpose of healing and enrichment. However, nursing requires being task-focused, and having urgency in interactions and exactness in procedures, leading to a loss in relational connection. Nursing can also be emotionally draining, leaving nurses functioning in a robot-like manner to protect themselves. A reawakening to the joy of nursing and a rediscovery of Presence as an essential practice in the healing of patients is thus a crucial and salient topic in nursing.

This book will answer burning questions such as why Presence is important for nursing. Using this book as a resource can help nurses to think about connecting, attuning, finding meaning and joy and delivering nursing care in relational way and in tune with the specific needs of the patient. This book will also equip nurse educators and trainers interested in cultivating Presence in nursing. Healthcare managers will benefit from the chapter on promoting quality in healthcare through relational leadership. This book also has valuable new information to offer to the researcher interested in Presence and related concepts such as relational care and relational leadership in healthcare. We will keep you posted on the progress of the book.

IASSIDD conference presentation

Emmerentia and a colleague, Dr Belinda Scrooby, attended the World Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD), in Glasgow, Scotland, during August this year. Emmerentia presented results from Presence research, to spread awareness regarding our findings and about Presence in Nursing. An abstract of the presentation, co-authored by Dr Elly Beurskens, is published as follows:

Du Plessis, E. & Beurskens, E. 2019. Presence: an account of an exposure (abstract). Journal of Intellectual disability research, 704. https://rdcu.be/bMxJ9. Emmerentia and Belinda enjoyed the conference, and the hospitality and friendliness of the Glaswegians!

A summary of the conference is available at the following link: https://vimeo.com/354218517.

Presence discussion forum 25 April 2019

Presence researchers and post-graduate students involved in research on Presence attended the Presence discussion forum, at the lovely NWU Botanical Gardens and Gallery. Everyone was welcomed and a lively discussion followed. The purpose of the day was to be updated on the progress of our research, to discuss our understanding of the concept, Presence, and to support one another in our research on Presence.

A spontaneous discussion on the concept ‘Presence’ as relevant to each member’s own study followed. Highlights of this discussion are as follows:

• The questions were posed: Is Presence not goal-oriented if it requires us to be open in the moment? Should it only be practised with certain patients, or all? Does it need time set apart?

• Presence is about ‘How’ you approach the patient, not necessarily ‘What’ you do. Thus, it is practised continuously, it is about ‘How’ you respond. For example, to be there for the patient step by step, listen, and ask. It can be illustrated by either a ‘warm’ or ‘cold’ way to do procedure.

• Is Presence only relevant to nursing, or also other disciplines? Presence is relevant to many disciplines.

• The idea of a Presence forum came to mind: for nurses’ own well-being, to discuss literature and knowledge on Presence, to go to own place of work (own context), reflect on practicing Presence guided by a mentor, leading to personal transformation and internalising Presence in order to practice Presence. Involving management. This may be achieved through training, and the use of social media.

Each member then shortly summarised their study related to Presence, and posed questions, which was then discussed in the group as a way of supporting one another.

Questions that were discussed:

• How to find the gap?

• How to conduct the literature review.

• Sampling approaches.

• Clarity on concepts in study, how these concepts relate (mindfulness, relational care, habitus, Presence).

• Choosing a topic: clarity on concepts, what is the end goal?

• What will be the new knowledge? E.g., develop programme to teach managers, include managers and staff.

News snippets

NRF funding news

We were fortunate to receive National Research Foundation (NRF) funding for the period 2017-2019. This funding enabled us to go on a study visit to the Presence Foundation in Utrecht, the Netherlands, to co-host (together with Optentia Research Programme) colleagues from the Presence Foundation during their study visits to South Africa, and to fund research and support post-graduate students financially. This year we could appoint a research assistant who provided tremendous support with literature searches. We thank and acknowledge the NRF for these opportunities.

Visit by Dr Guus Timmerman, Presence Foundation

Dr Guus Timmerman, research fellow at the Presence Foundation, Utrecht, the Netherlands, visited us during April this year. He made time to visit us during his week-long study visit to the WorkWell Research focus area where he is involved as co-promoter for PhD candidates. We had a productive discussion regarding collaboration in further research and the book on Presence in Nursing. We also met his wife, Fiya, and their children during a wonderful supper on the evening of his visit.

Caring presence Facebook page

Please remember to visit our Facebook

page, and contribute by sharing your story: https://www.facebook.com/caringpresence1/. We are planning to expand our social media presence, to disseminate research results and spread awareness on Presence in Nursing. Watch this space!