Part of the ESME: Resources for Sense-Able Conversations Pack

Introduction to ESME: resources for sense-able conversations pack

Resources for Sense-Able Conversations is the collective name for a range of resources borne out of the Exploring Student Midwives' Experiences (ESME) Study.

The ESME study involved midwifery students, midwives and Essentials of Care (EOC) Coordinators working alongside researchers to explore how to enhance learning experiences among midwifery students and midwives.

A central framework within the ESME Study was the Senses Framework (Nolan et. al 2006), which provides a guide to what relationship-centred care looks and feels like both for those receiving and providing care.

The framework proposes that an enriched care environment is achieved through all involved in the care experience (patients, staff, relatives) having a sense of: Security, Belonging, Purpose, Continuity, Achievement and Significance.

Through research carried out in the ESME study new understanding was generated as to how it looks and feels when each of the six Senses listed above are being achieved for individuals and within teams, particularly in relation to midwifery students and midwives.

The title, Resources for Sense-Able Conversations, is a wordplay on the idea that these resources are a root into conversations which enable the Senses to be realised.

The resources in the Sense-Able Conversations Pack reflect a desire to:

  • continue to grow rich and nuanced conversations around enhancing learning experiences
  • offer practical tools which can help facilitate these conversations
  • encourage people to be brave, and vulnerable when having these conversations

The various resources included in the Sense-Able Conversations Pack are listed, along with a short description for each resource.

  • Senses framework - Describes what midwifery students and midwives might be feeling, doing, experiencing if the six Senses of Security, Belonging, Purpose, Continuity, Achievement and Significance were being met.
  • Senses framework rating scale - A resource which can be used to explore people's current experiences in relation to the six Senses. It can also be used to discover more about how each of these senses could be further enhanced.
  • Sense-making conversation cards - A set of conversation cues on a range of topics pertinent to midwifery students and midwives- each topic is accompanied by a range of questions to stimulate further dialogue.
  • I used to … but now I poem - A poem written as a reflective exercise by midwifery students, midwives and EOC Coordinators who were part of the ESME project. Accompanying the poem are 3 resources to support further reflection and discussion:
    • Poem Ponderings- a set of questions to support reflecting on the words of the poem
    • Outside the Box Reflections- an activity to encourage people to explore key topics from the poem in fresh ways
    • Unfolding Poem- a recipe for people to develop their own poem
  • Our stories matter - A booklet of 7 stories, shared by midwifery students and midwives, as part of the ESME (Exploring Student Midwives' Experiences) Study. Alongside the stories are details of a structured process which can be used to facilitate group discussion on the content of the stories.
  • In the know - An ice-breaker which encourages conversation on:
    • celebrating what we know
    • showing we are keen to grow what we know
    • feeling its ok to say we don't know.

Additional resources

Also included in the Sense-Able Conversations Pack are four resources which were used as part of data generation in the ESME study. All four of these resources have been designed to stimulate conversations which are relational, help people to uncover new learning and articulate that which may have previously been unsaid.

These resources are:

Using the resources

All the resources in the ESME: Resources for Sense-Able Conversations are licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0. This means that those using the resource can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and adapt, transform, and build upon the material. Further details about the licence can be found on the Creative Commons website.

We would like to encourage you to have a look, take a light-hearted approach to giving them a go and notice what happens in the conversations when you try them out.


Current as at: Tuesday 30 November 2021
Contact page owner: Nursing and Midwifery