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Professor
Margaret McAllsiter

In this, our second narratives of health and wellbeing conference, we showcase scholarly work reviewing, exploring, studying, deconstructing and reconstructing the concept of resilience – the positive adjustment to adversity. We explore the role narrative plays in conveying stories of resilience and how the act of writing and developing narrative may also build resilience. We may begin to question whether resilience is a personal, innate, or learned attribute; a social or cultural asset; or a buzzword that offloads social and workplace responsibilities onto individuals.

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Delegates likely to benefit include researchers, scholars, advanced undergraduate, post-graduate and RHD students working in any area of narrative research, writing narrative production, nursing, midwifery, mental health, the creative and performing arts, education and the humanities.

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Presenters at the conference will have the opportunity to submit to a scholarly publication.

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This conference is an exciting opportunity for delegates to interact across a diverse range of interests. The conference program features a half day workshop that will provide delegates with hands-on learning and experience, an evening welcome function with a special private viewing of the CQU Noosa Arts Space Exhibition and featured floor talk, a full day conference event showcasing multiple speaker presentations and keynote address by Dr Kate Ames.

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Keynote Speakers

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Our special Keynote Address is by Dr Kate Ames, co-author of the book Will to Live.

 

In 2012, Dr Kate Ames’ brother Matthew had his limbs amputated to save his life. He survived to tell his tale…to her. In three months, she wrote 90,000 words based on countless hours of interviews with Matthew, his wife Diane, and members of their family that became Will to Live, a memoir published by Penguin that debuted in the Top 10 Australian non-fiction list. As a form of narrative case study, Kate will explain how and why she told the story. Matthew’s story of survival is actually a story of opportunity. It is about everyone giving everyone else a chance. From the surgeons who gave Matthew a chance to the faith given to her by her family and a major publisher to write the story as a ‘first-time’ author.  She will explore how the telling of the story brought people together, provided hope for others, and allowed the family to set a moment in time before moving on. In the telling of this personal narrative, Kate will share some lessons learned about the journey.

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Our second Keynote Address will be given by Professor Margaret McAllister. Margaret is Professor of Nursing at CQUniversity, in Noosa. She is an award winning educator, sought after research supervisor and is experienced in working across disciplines. She has co-authored several books: The Clinical Helper, Stories in Mental Health, The Resilient Nurse and Solution Focused Nursing.

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Her presentation is entitled Using a critical-resilience lens to analyse Paradise Road. In popular culture nurses are often portrayed as resilient but in ways that support the status quo:  they cope with what-ever challenges come their way;  suffer in silence; and have heroic qualities that single them out as unique individuals. This does not reflect the reality, or the insights, that nurses usually work in teams, and their effectiveness depends on collaboration, creative coping, buoyant approaches to rising above adversity. Often representations of nursing in popular culture support a dominant narrative about resilience that is similarly problematic – the appealing story of the brave individual who is challenged by, but then triumphs over, a major crisis. This narrative, also called the hero’s journey  (Campbell, 1949),  has been circulating in Western society for centuries, and is often taught as foundational to the construction of a compelling human story.

 

The film Paradise Road (Beresford, 1997), is one of the few narratives where nursing is represented as a group activity. It portrays, moreover, a group that is tested in extreme crisis and responds collectively. As a case study of critical resilience in action, Paradise Road can suggest innovative ways of thinking about nursing’s future, and constructing alternative resilience narratives.

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Dr Kate Ames
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Wenckus once observed that storytelling, in whatever mode – be it oral, written, filmed, or dramatized – can “relate cultural history, teach ethics and morals, relax, entertain, and stimulate imagination and creativity” (1994, p. 30). In health-care, there can be stress and dissatisfaction, leading to detached clinicians and impersonal actions. Research linking the creative arts and health may hold the key for humanising this vital workforce.

 

CQUniversity Noosa, Queensland, Australia

Pre-Conference Workshop Thursday 26th October 2017
Conference Friday 27th October 2017

Conference Sponsors

We are pleased to acknowledge the support of our conference sponsors and thank them for their valuable contribution to this event

Caloundra Private Clinic provides comprehensive mental health services, treating patients with general and acute mental health disorders and providing inpatient, day program and outpatient services.

The clinic is comprised of a 46 bed private inpatient mental health unit, offering treatment for a range of mental health conditions including anxiety and depression, mood disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and prescription drug management service.

Community Focus Association is a community based Mental Health Peer organisation. Engaging participants (consumers) as members of the community, productive valuable contributors. Promoting community inclusion, such as social connectedness, respecting supportive relationships and positive productive environments. Proactively supporting freedom from discrimination and abuse. Encouraging and supporting active peer participation in the pursuit of wellness and recovery.

The Islander Noosa Resort is kindly hosting our Keynote speaker and has provided in-kind support to the conference. 

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