Nanja Holland Hansen on compassion making the difference (Denmark)

12/28/21 • 34 min

On the podcast is Nanja Holland Hansen.
Nanja is a psychologist and one of the leading compassion experts in Denmark.
She has worked at Stanford University and Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet. She is a senior instructor at the Compassion Institute in California and the Co-developer of the Compassion Training Certification Program for professionals at Aarhus University. Nanja has also published several books and research articles about compassion and mental health.
On suffering

"Compassion takes away the heaviness. It doesn't mean that there is less suffering. It's just how you meet that suffering. And that makes all the difference.
On bringing back kindness
"It's these everyday little moments where we can bring some kindness and care."
"There is research showing that it takes only 40 seconds to show compassion. That's all it takes."
Show notes:

Previous Episode

Hugo Sax on the strengths and limitations of human beings (Switzerland)

On the podcast is Hugo Sax.
Professor Hugo Sax is a medical doctor, board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases with over 20 years of experience in Infection Prevention and Control. Until 2021, he was Head of the Infection Prevention Program at the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland.

He is currently a Research Fellow at the Department of Infectious Diseases at Bern University Hospital. He is also a board member and prev. President of Swissnoso, the Swiss National Center for Infection Prevention. He is a member of the First Challenge on Patient Safety at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chief Medical Border Officer at Zurich Airport.

His research focuses on human factors and systems thinking in healthcare. He also created ‘My five moments for hand hygiene,’ which has become a global standard.

He teaches Human Factors to medical students and pilots and enjoys flying vintage aerobatic aircraft himself.
On infection prevention
"Now, I think we are in infection prevention 4.0. where system integration and data science are the big things"
On interventions
"You have to imagine the reality of people on the ground, and then design the intervention in a way that takes into account the context of the people"
On human beings
"It's all about realizing the strengths and weaknesses of human beings"

Next Episode

Cindie Maagaard on narrative medicine to improve clinical outcomes (Denmark)

On the podcast is Cindie Maagaard

Today's guest is Dr. Cindie Maagaard, an associate professor at the Department of Language and Communication at the University of Southern Denmark. She holds a Ph.D. in postmodern English literature. Since 2010, her passion for narratives has turned to investigate organizational communication. Since 2016 her research has increasingly focused on how narratives are used in contexts of health and medicine to help health professionals and patients understand and communicate about illness - and she is one of the leading experts in the field.

Cindie has published research articles and book chapters on narrative medicine and is the co-editor of a brand new anthology of Danish and international literature written by and about patients and doctors.

On narrative medicine

A starting point for narrative medicine is that any medical perspective includes a patient's life experiences and relationships, worries, hopes, desires, and more. These perspectives are integrated into a medical perspective.

On communicating more empathetically through narratives

Give the patient time in the beginning to talk, maybe beginning with a question. Tell me what I need to know about your situation and why you are here? And give the patient time to unfold that.

Practice attention by reading.
Show notes:
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