The Era of Partnership is Here

Abstract

It is a privilege to be a nurse. Our profession has a ringside seat at the emergence of new possibilities in the physical sciences, in psychology, and in multiple ways of knowing: art, music, poetry, mindfulness-all foundations of our trade. We also are given the daily opportunity to explore how the application of these findings can improve the human condition. This issue of Creative Nursing explores the myriad ways in which a shift to true partnership and collaboration is redefining health care, our role in its delivery, and the very meaning of health itself. In his compelling audio series, The Neurobiology of "We": How Relationships, the Mind, and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are, Daniel Siegel (2011) examines the "triangle of the human experience" as a way of understanding how we co-create our reality. Whereas nursing science guides the things we "do," the art of nursing guides our way of being with others. This function requires three things: a brain that guides energy/information flow through our body, a mind that focuses and regulates this flow, and relationships that define how we share energy and information-the source of life and our survival. "Outside of relationship there is no-thing" (Siegel, 2011). Life in general, and human life in particular, is a classic example of a complex system. It has multiple layers of activity that interact chaotically. How many moving parts define your life? A complex system that is open will receive information and energy from beyond itself, flowing toward an enlarged way of being. Complexity theory states two rules that characterize an open complex system: * Self-organization: The system/person takes in information/energy and organizes it in such a way that flow is increased. * Self-regulation: The system/person moves across time toward maximizing complexity, integrating these new elements into the whole of its being, developing new capacities and opportunities. If we are exposed to these new and enlarging elements within a closed system, we will either move away from them, becoming rigid with no flow, or lose our sense of self and disintegrate into chaos. However, when we incorporate what is new and emerging into our ways of knowing and being, we continue to grow and develop across our life span. Our capacity and sense of well-being are enhanced. As we develop new partnerships and other relationships, we automatically enlarge the intake of energy and information from multiple sources, increasing our complexity and our health. When we are at maximum capacity in complexity, we are in the flow. We experience flexibility, adaptability, coherence, energy, and stability in our life and relationships. Interaction is the key to survival. Sharing is a two-way experience-the essence of relationship. However, the exchange cannot simply be a casual one if it is to be significant. Research shows that a meaning-full relationship must include a contingent connection (Siegel, 2011). …