Salons are opportunities for gathering to indulge in ‘big talk’ and meaningful conversations. Story care uses salons to engage in sharing stories to create a conscious and safe space for nurses and healthcare workers to acknowledge the confines of racism that exist within our practices in honest and real dialogue.

The problems of racism in healthcare, in society, and in nursing are not new. In our healing ways, we bring our clinical knowledge, life experiences, and our humanity to the intersection of patient and professional engagement; yet we often omit that our biases are present too. We have the opportunity to learn and grow from each of these dynamic interactions to improve our practices and insights about the care we provide. We must be our best selves to nurture the best outcomes in others we are charged to care for. If we are to learn and grow from these encounters we are required to intentionally reflect on our emotions and feelings, and examine our roles in our communities; how we impact our communities, and the impact our communities have on us.
 
Attendants will participate in “storying salons'' to facilitate difficult conversations about racism through sharing stories of lived experiences. Palmer (2000) explains that “sharing stories helps us find clues (that are coded and needed to be deciphered) that put us back on trails toward our birthright gifts of selfhood”. Story Care is an intervention model underpinned by values, principles, assumptions and presuppositions inherent in theories of critical race theory, historical trauma, intersectionality, and reflexive antiracism.
 
Salons used in phase one of Story Care as opportunities to indulge in ‘big talk’ and meaningful conversations. Importantly, salons are gatherings where each participant forms and informs the conversation; unlike formal meetings, they are opportunities where people can casually connect and share their experiences.