Cynda Rushton PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor of Nursing
Co-Chair Ethics Service
Johns Hopkins University and Hospital

Last year, at a retreat of the Ethics Service of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, I invited committee members  to select a SoulCard that represented healing as they entered the space. After some initial resistance, members selected diverse images of healing from studying an array of SoulCards. Members of the Committee divided into dyads to share information about themselves, their work and the meaning of healing through an exploration of their chosen card.

Following this sharing, each person in the dyad introduced the other to the entire group. The introductions were deeply meaningful, going beyond the usual introductory data disclosed in professional settings. At the end of the retreat, members were asked to reflect on the impact of the day. Several people mentioned the impact of knowing each other differently and requested to keep their cards as a reminder of their work. The SoulCards helped to deepen the work of the retreat and to shift our interactions beyond mind to soul and heart.

Dr Rushton, an internationally known expert in bioethics and palliative care, shares her knowledge through teaching, clinical practice, research, consultation, and scholarship. She is an International Co-Director of the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health.