Whats a aha moment professional#
Whats a aha moment series#

The word itself causes an array of emotions-like fear and anger. In 2016 I was hit with a diagnosis of cancer.

No, I have been experiencing my most important 'aha' moment firsthand for the past year. My latest 'aha' moment may be the biggest one of my health care career, and I want to share with it you!įor me, this 'aha' moment did not occur while taking care of patients, and certainly did not hit me all at once. Scars do fade… But did you take anything away from the experience? Did your experience as a patient make you a better, more compassionate provider? We know the course of treatment and what to expect. It can be frustrating, humbling, and downright scary. Car accidents, broken bones, having a baby – we have all had to put on that gown from time to time. We have all been a patient at one time or another. It is our collective desire to enhance how we care for our patients. These are moments of clarity that solidify why we do what we do every day, why we care so much, why we've chosen this profession, why we are good at what we do, why we are respected by our peers and patients, and why our passion for healing leads us to blogs like this.

Whats a aha moment professional#

In our professional careers, there are often 'aha' moments. We can often become better wound care providers just by being present and taking a few minutes to actually listen to the patient, read the situation, and show compassion. However, being 'better' doesn't always mean reading articles or attending national conferences. We should all strive to be better and know more. You're reading this because you want to be a better caretaker for the sick and injured - you want to be a better provider. Medicine changes constantly, and we must stay up to date on the best options for our patients. Researchers say that these clues may help scientists better understand the creative insight process and its impact on the brain.By Lindsay Andronaco RN, BSN, CWCN, WOC, DAPWCA, FAACWS 'But in this case, your brain is blocking out just the visual inputs to your right hemisphere.' 'This is like closing your eyes so you can concentrate when you are trying to solve a difficult problem,' says researcher John Kounios of Drexel University in a news release. Researchers say this 'gating' effect might occur to allow weak solution-related activity to gain momentum and then burst into consciousness as insight. About 1.5 seconds before the moment of insight, there was an increase in lower frequency brain waves in this area of the brain, which disappeared when the high-frequency activity began. In addition, a second smaller wave of electrical activity was seen on EEG. This type of activity is associated with high-level processing of information, and researchers say it was also centered in the same right temporal lobe area. The study showed that about one-third of a second before the 'Aha!' moment, there was a sudden burst of high-frequency brain waves. In the second experiment, researchers monitored the participants' brainwave activity using an electroencephalogram (EEG) during insight and noninsight problem solving tasks. Researchers say previous studies have shown that this right temporal lobe may be important for drawing distantly related information together, which is a key component of insight. Little activity was detected in this area during noninsight solutions. Using brain imaging techniques, researchers found that activity increased in a small part of the right lobe of the brain called the temporal lobe when the participants reported experiencing creative insight during problem solving.

Whats a aha moment series#

In the first, study participants were given a series of word problems to solve designed to evoke a distinct 'Aha!' moment about half the time they were solved. In the study, which appears in the April issue of PloS Biology, researchers compared brain activity in two different experiments. Surge of Brain Activity Accompanies 'Aha!' Moments 'We believe this is the first research showing that distinct computational and neural mechanisms lead to these breakthrough moments.' 'For thousands of years people have said that insight feels different from more straightforward problem solving,' says researcher Mark Jung-Beeman, an associate professor of psychology at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill. Ap- It may not appear in the shape of a light bulb above your head, but researchers say 'Aha!' moments are marked by a surge of electrical activity in the brain.Ī new study shows that solving a problem that requires creative insight prompts distinct changes in brain activity that don't occur under normal problem-solving conditions.