COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Patients do not come to UCHealth Memorial Central’s cancer department with just a medical report.

When a nurse enters the room, she not only knows her patient’s treatment plan. They know they enjoy salsa dancing, watched the movie “Titanic” 12 times, or enjoy medieval history and are saving money to visit Europe.

This is a word cloud project in Memorial’s Inpatient Oncology Department; It’s the brainchild of Angie Benner, an assistant nurse manager who says she was inspired by a hospice nurse in Denver.

“We had a practitioner come from the Denver area at the beginning of the summer. He was doing a project making clouds for people at the end of their lives, hospice patients, and he was asking their families to tell him a little bit about them, so while we’re there taking care of them and not being able to talk to them, we can talk about the things they like and their interests,” Benner said.

Around the same time, Benner was taking part in a UCHealth-wide leadership program.

“Our goal was to make a process improvement or employee satisfaction improvement process. So mine focused mainly on improving patient satisfaction.”

Put the two together…

“’Wow, anyone can benefit from word cloud!’ I thought

Staying in the hospital can be scary even under the best of circumstances. For oncology patients, everything can start to become cancer-related every day. Angie’s idea: To make them feel like humans again, not sick.

“People like to talk about themselves, to talk about something other than the reason they’re here for a moment in the hospital.”

And for anyone who has watched or watched a loved one battle a serious injury or illness, the mental side of the struggle—staying optimistic, holding on to happiness—can have an impact on the outcome.

In July, shortly after speaking with the nurse at the hospice, Benner began creating word clouds for patients.

“I can walk into a patient’s room and say, ‘Can I make you a word cloud?’ It’s so much fun to say. And of course there is an initial look of confusion on their faces! ‘This is a way for us to get to know you outside of you being in hospital.’ This makes them smile a little. “

It will encourage patients to put in anything they want: their passions, fun facts about themselves, hidden talents, favorite foods, pets, hobbies…

“It can really be anything they want it to be.”

The word cloud is then placed on the clipboard in the patient’s room where all other medical information is located. The idea is that when a nurse, doctor, or housekeeper walks in, they can strike up a conversation about whatever makes the patient happy. It’s not about what their cancer is, it’s about who they are.

The results for such a simple project have been amazing so far!

“I really saw a change in people’s personalities and that spark of what their passions were and what made them happy outside of the hospital. … Being able to avoid having everyone come into your room and talk about one thing. ‘I am more than this diagnosis. Let me tell you about this.’ “I think it’s unique to people.”

This was so important to one patient that he requested it even while moving units.

“One of our patients, who was in our unit, had to move to another unit. After he moved there, we received a call from his nurse there saying, ‘Can you send us his word cloud?’ Because he did not move. “It was with him, and it was so important to him that he wanted to keep it with him during his stay in the hospital.”

Another patient was excited to see that the word cloud was shaped like one of her interests. Benner and the other nurses who help her move the clouds personalize each one: The words are placed in a graphic that means something to that person. Benner told me that he manages to never repeat a chart twice, so they are all truly unique!

“’Oh my God, I didn’t know it would happen like this!’ he said. And it brought a smile to his face.”

It was also helpful for caregivers in the hospital.

“We spend our days being really busy and completing a lot of tasks,” Benner told me. “I feel like this was born out of what makes me happiest as a nurse. I remember we were really busy saying, ‘If this is nursing, I don’t want to do this.’ If all I do is go into rooms and complete missions, that’s not for me.’ I want to have time to sit there and talk to people and learn their stories, and that’s what makes me want to be a nurse. I love taking care of people, I love getting to know people, and I feel like that already comes from what makes me passionate about being a nurse.

“… I think that’s what brings us happiness, knowing and connecting with people, not going through our days like robots just completing tasks. It’s that human connection that makes the difference.”

Colleagues loved how word clouds enriched their relationships with patients; So much so that the entire oncology team created word clouds for themselves!

“I’ve gotten feedback from all of our employees. They’ll sit here and look at each other and have fun going and talking to each other about the new things they’ve learned.”

One of the funniest facts Benner learned through word clouds: Learning that one of her nurse friends could ride a unicycle while juggling!

It may be just a piece of paper and a computer program, but it is as powerful as any medicine when it comes to providing hope and strength during the fight against cancer.

“It reminds them of what they’re fighting for in this,” Benner said.

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