Dr. Cory Jenks, earned his PharmD from the University of South Carolina and completed a PGY1 residency at the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System. His past pharmacy experience has included time as a retail pharmacist, outpatient clinical pharmacist, and inpatient clinical pharmacist. Currently, he practices as an Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacist where he applies his passion for lifestyle interventions in the management of chronic disease.
Cory is also an accomplished improv comedian as well as author. Since then, Cory has coached, taught, and performed improv for thousands of people. His book, “Permission to Care: Building a Healthcare Culture that Thrives in Chaos.” Today, Cory travels the country teaching other healthcare professionals how to apply the valuable skills of improv comedy to create a more adaptable, empathetic, and humanizing work experience.
Featured Topics:
Culture Unscripted: Train to Retain and Thrive
Attendees will be introduced to the skills and philosophy of improv comedy, and how creating an “Unscripted Culture” will help unlock creativity, build adaptability, and create connections with coworkers and clients. In a business world that seems to always be “no”, attendees will see how applying the simple improv phrase “yes, and” can create a culture where employees and clients will feel seen, heard and understood. While it may seem that teaching and applying the soft skills needed to build a winning culture can be daunting, ultimately, by training improvisation techniques it will lead to a culture of employee and client retention, more productivity and joyful work.
- List the eight core rules that make improv a useful tool for building a sustainable culture
- Describe how improv can foster joy and creativity for individuals and teams
- Identify the three ways improv fundamentals can foster an environment that improves employee and client retention
Life Unscripted: How thinking like an improviser builds adaptability, sparks creativity, and creates connections
Attendees will learn the skills and philosophy of improv comedy, and how living a “life unscripted” can help unlock creativity, build adaptability, and create connections to improve their personal, family, and business lives. In a world that seems to always say “no” attendees will see how the simple phrase “yes, and” will open doors they never imagined and create a life they never thought possible. Your group will learn how thinking like an improv comedian can build deep, lasting, and meaningful connections that will grow stronger in the face of adversity. Your group will come to realize that a bigger life means that sometimes we have to off script.
- List the eight core rules that make improv a useful tool for being more adaptable
- Describe how improv can foster creativity for individuals and teams
- Identify the three ways improv fundamentals can foster an environment that builds connections
Prepare for Unpredictability: Learn to Love the Unknown
There are few fears greater than facing the unknown. The unknown can be paralyzing, terrifying, and anxiety inducing. But what if instead of fearing the unknown, your group could actually learn to love and thrive in it instead? In this talk, your group will learn how thinking like an improv comedian can actually help you love and thrive when faced with the unexpected. Attendees will learn, apply, and come away with the ability to let go of control, build resilience and turn the unknown from a liability to an asset for themselves, their coworkers, and their clients.
- List the core tenets that make improv a useful tool for building adaptability
- Describe how the guiding principles of improv can build resilience
- Identify the ways improv fundamentals can turn mistakes into gifts
ImprovRx 101
With “ImprovRx 101” participants will dive into the basic concepts of improv comedy, what makes improv such an effective tool for improving teamwork, listening, and communication in healthcare, and how to use these skills to create a better healthcare experience for themselves and their patients. After just a few minutes of instruction on these critical improv concepts, your group will be creating memorable and funny improv scenes to reinforce the application of improv to healthcare.
- List the core tenets that make improv a useful tool for improving communication and teamwork in healthcare
- Describe how the guiding principles of improv can create empathetic connections with patients
- Identify how improv fundamentals can foster an environment that humanizes the healthcare experience
Putting Yes, And to Work
In “Putting Yes, And To Work,” your group will be immersed in the world of improv comedy, and how it can build an adaptable, empathetic, and humanizing healthcare experience. We will review the literature of improv in healthcare and how it creates a more humanizing healthcare experience through the building of empathy and adaptability. Your group will have a chance to participate in a fun, supportive environment where they will amaze themselves at the rich, unique, and memorable scenes they create. With each activity and scene, we will discuss the improv concepts used, and how we can take the lessons to create a more humanizing healthcare experience. At the conclusion of the session, we will discuss the important improv concepts that were practiced and ways for participants to apply them effectively and consistently to instill resiliency and adaptability while creating a more engaging and humanizing healthcare experience for both providers and patients.
- Apply the core tenets that make improv a useful tool for creating an adaptable healthcare experience
- Demonstrate how the guiding principles of improv can build empathetic connections with patients and co-workers
- Show how improv fundamentals can foster an environment that humanizes the healthcare experience
MASTERCLASS
Putting Improv to Work
With “Putting Improv to Work” participants will dive into the basic concepts of improv comedy, what makes improv such an effective tool for improving teamwork, listening, and communication and how to use these skills to create a better experience for themselves, their teammates and their clients. After just a few minutes of instruction on these critical improv concepts, your group will be creating memorable and funny improv scenes to reinforce the application of improv to teamwork and customer service.
- List the core tenets that make improv a useful tool for improving communication and teamwork
- Describe how the guiding principles of improv can create empathetic connections with co-workers and clients
- Identify how improv fundamentals can foster an environment that humanizes the customer service experience