Hello and welcome to cRxeate., our newly formed creativity project and forum.
Here is our new website which intends to foster creativity in all the medical, dentistry and veterinary professions and hopefully, the healthcare teams and organisations they work with.
We think its an urgent project and one which could help lots of people out there in hospitals, clinics, labs, colleges or medical organisations who are trying their best to make their patients feel better. That includes all researchers and students and any practitioners whether currently working or not.
We want to reach out to as many people as possible. So we will be looking to grow and invite as many in as possible. We need your help.
So apart from spreading the word about us on social media like twitter (please do! see the link below) and within your own practices and networks, we will be looking for 'cRxeate. Fellows' to take our vision forward- doctors, dentists and vets of all ages and specialisms. The one thing you will have in common is a passion for your own and others' creativity- that's self expression through any of the arts or hobbies, sports, nature, coaching for self-development- whatever it is that appeals to you.
We are open to persuasion as to exactly what you would like to do for us and in most cases will just say yes! Do it! Our ethos- the manifesto-is on our site. Send in a proposal, pass us a brief, write for our blog. Offer your time and energy to host an event which could be as simple as meeting in a pub or cafe for a chat about art you like or do?
Lets make ourselves more fulfilled, able to think more clearly and productively, to feel more ourselves and able to relate in open responsive ways. We call that cRxeative empowerment. Without strengthening and expressing ourselves and undertaking ongoing learning we can feel left behind and eroded. We get rather 'lost' and we feel more vulnerable and get disconnected. That's part of the so called 'burnout' problem and it is also part of how we can feel in conflict in so many ways. Some people think of this as 'moral distress'- another catchphrase taking up physician- wellness headlines recently. Conflict distress makes you feel the opposite of empowered. It doesn't let you take emotional risks because it limits your potential for thinking and feeling. We want to help people get unstuck from that issue of conflict and stress.
Much research now shows that creativity is an important key to feeling empowered to change and it is often overlooked in busy work lives where you feel you've got nothing left for yourself at the end of a heavily pressurised day, night, or weekend on-call or a shift.
Increasing numbers of people in healthcare are suffering - right now, it seems very few are not-and although the systems we work or study in need wide scale changes (something creativity can of course help with more broadly) we can do what we can to make our personal worlds easier through creativity.
So do join us, subscribe for our monthly newsletter to keep in touch, come to an event like a creativity cafe or host one yourself and see what you want to explore within our resource pages. We have several resource pages currently with lots to visit and link to. 17 Fellows have produced links to sections of the Arts, Wellness and Hobbies sections. There's courses to be looked at, materials to be tried out, workshops to do at home or with a group or team, and lots of mentorship available. We aim to spark your creativity enthusiasm.
As artists and medics ourselves we know that there's so much potential for you within creative worlds AND medicine. No one should feel an outsider or that its not their role or within their power to be creative. We are here for you! You will be here for yourself and others too as part of our community.
We hope that soon creativity will be a normal core part of everyone in healthcare. That's what we hope. Rx creativity- the Rx is a conventional shorthand communication for 'take that' and we see the Rx as within our creativity and not separate to it. The prescription for creativity is inherent in what we do as creative doctors dentists and vets, if we will acknowledge it more and let it in. We will be talking more about this issue later in blogs and podcasts. We will also be looking at what creativity can mean, what it does for people and lots of other background work in the field. Our 'Trove' (named after a treasure trove idea) will include these sorts of resources as a virtual library.
Thanks very much for connecting and give us your feedback as we develop the forum. Its all very new and in development, just as cRxeativity should really be.
Rx Creativity!
all our best wishes , Jo and Lucy
from the cRxeate. founders
Jo and Lucy
Twitter #cRxeate @jotalbotbowen