Who are the caregivers? We all are, for at the heart of being human is the capacity to care, to reach out to others, and explore the relationships we build.
Valeria interviews Edward Smink, the author of “The Soul of Caregiving”. The book is about us and how we, as caregivers, serve, even sacrifice, for those in need. Dr. Edward invites you to explore with him how we have the opportunities to partake in a kind of pilgrimage along the path of our experiences as caregivers.
Who will be your guide on this journey? Unlike other pilgrims who have a guide assigned to them, you will soon discover it is your own Soul guiding you. Professionally skilled as we may be to meet the needs of others, a fundamental core component of our busy lives as caregivers, is the necessity to stop and rest. It is not a waste of time, but rather a luxury of time, to ponder, reflect, and grow from our experiences. Not an easy endeavor in the midst of a whirlwind of activity. We, as caregivers, experience vulnerability, helplessness, fears, and pain over the traumatic events we experience because we care. We care about those whom we are called to serve.
There is so much wisdom in Edward's works. He calls the tension between activity and reflection, “the Dance of Caregiving,” a dance between the caregiver’s needs and those of the one in need and says that there is within each of us a space that seeks wholeness and transformation, an area of woundedness which often shows its face in the midst of our caregiving. In a unique and profound way, those who serve are transformed in the healing relationship that is created with those in need. We are wounded healers.
Edward also explores compassion fatigue and its two sisters, secondary traumatic stress and burnout. He says that we experience compassion fatigue because we care.
Edward has over forty years’ experience in healthcare as nurse, crisis and pastoral counselor, executive leader, facilitator of mission, ethics, value and leadership formation. His career has the foundation of his many years in different leadership positions where his skills of active listening, the promotion of ethical and professional guidelines, crisis intervention, facilitation of personal and professional goals, growth strategies, and sensitivity for and the promotion of cultural and spiritual diversity. Edward likes to claim that along with his academic credentials, he has learned most from his experience with colleagues who care for others and from those who needed his services. He has coached individuals, leadership teams, directors, healthcare professionals, and executive leaders.
He is a successful author, and an accomplished speaker.
