GEL 2008: Day 2, Session 2 “Twist”

[Also check out other GEL 2008 posts: Day 1; Day 2 Session 1 “Connect”, Session 3 “Make”, Session 4 “Success”]

Session 2: Twist

Speakers: Bridget Duffy, George Vaillant, Lelavision, Natasha Schüll

Twist: taking the familiar and adding something unexpected

Bridget Duffy, Chief Experience Officer of Cleveland Clinic

• She’s bringing good experience into health care
• Shows cartoon of a dr saying to a patient “I think you’ll find I’m one of the most empathetic doctors around” in a gown exposing his butt
• When Bridget Duffy was first hired, her title was Chief Empathy Officer, but it evolved to Experience.
• We shouldn’t treat the patient as diseased parts; we should treat them as a whole human being
• “Navigator” program created at Cleveland Clinic to guide patient throughout the entire emotional experience
• Redesigned the patient gown to “restore dignity and respect” — covered the butt, shin-length, slits give access for stethoscope
• US patient survey found that ppl weren’t communicated to with respect, helped on time, and had pain well managed
• Cleveland Clinic improving food and housekeeping, focusing on human-to-human connections. Only 20% of healing connected to machines

George Vaillant, psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School

• George just published Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith
• Positive emotions are important not just because they’re cozy but for the survival of humankind and the planet
• The notion of “killing with kindness” is a reality. Uses example of the mother who took in the man who killed her son
• The words faith, trust, joy, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion are no where mentioned in Vaillant’s foremost psychiatric textbook
• The 4 F’s: Fighting, fleeing, feeding, lust ;)
• Positive emotions evolve genetically, culturally, developmentally

A slide from George Vaillant’s talk — and it mentions pleasure and pain!

Lelavision, performance artists

• This guy is making a flute by drilling out a carrot
• Playing a seaweed saxophone he made. And styrofoam harp.
• Don’t worry, I’m taking lots of photos
• They try to exploit all the possible ways to use each object

[More videos coming soon]

Natasha Schüll, cultural anthropologist

• Natasha is currently studying our interactions with slot machines
• Slot machines in supermarkets, airports, gas stations. Video poker is the favorite of locals. Las Vegas has more than 100 Gamblers Anonymous meetings a week
• “The Zone” — dissociated state in which time and space are gone
• Slot machines were designed for female partners of players at the tables. But they’re not the “one arm bandits” they used to be
• Screen, chair, everything around it designed to keep you connected to the machine and not tired
• Harrah’s determines when pain points occur for a player and then sends out a “luck embassador” to give out a coupon or free dinner

NOTE: You can see all my photos of the conference or check out the photos by professional photographer Gene Driskell.

[Also check out other GEL 2008 posts: Day 1; Day 2 Session 1 “Connect”, Session 3 “Make”, Session 4 “Success”]

Related Posts:

• Would You Treat Them Differently? March 15, 2013 | 3 comments
• User Research War Stories: “Taking empathy to a whole new level” August 3, 2012 | 4 comments
• Living a Compassionate Life May 13, 2013 | 3 comments
• User Experience is Not Enough April 21, 2012 | 43 comments
• More Empathy, Better Design February 20, 2013 | 0 comments