Drum circles at a major Cleveland hospital relieve employee stress

Are you a health worker who feels tense and stressed out? Don't take your frustrations online to your blog -- take it to a drum circle:

"She reached out to give the tambourine to a member of the circle, who looked up uneasily from her drum. "I don't know how to use those," she said. "It doesn't matter," Shively Mizes said, pulling her up from her seat.

Employees at MetroHealth Medical Center who come to twice monthly drum circles have learned that knowing what you're doing isn't important.

It's all about catching the rhythm."

See the video below from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In a recent NPR story, Dr. Debra Peel, a psychiatrist, was critical of the doctors "venting" their frustration on personal blogs:

"If you are unhappy with the people that you're supposed to be serving and taking care of, you probably need therapy," she says. "You don't need to be venting your frustrations in a public manner like that. That's very inappropriate and unprofessional."
It would be interesting to see what she thinks of the drum circles as an alternative to relieve stress:

"Health care workers give and give and give and spend many, many hours helping others," said Shively Mizes, who started offering employee drum circles in November. "Who's taking care of the caregivers?"

References:

Drum circles at MetroHealth Medical Center boost morale and relieve stress. The Plain Dealer.
NPR: Doctor Blogs Raise Concerns About Patient Privacy
NYTimes Calls Caregiving a 'Roller-Coaster Ride From Hell' and suggest coping strategies  http://goo.gl/TYkz5


Drum circles at MetroHealth Medical Center boost morale and relieve stress