Two hundred and fifty clinicians at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) have completed a Compassionate Human Interactions workshop designed to reinforce patient-centered care principles and practices. Patient-centered care is defined as providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.
The four-day workshop, which was organized by HMC’s Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement (CPESE), was held in partnership with Planetree, the US-based global leader in person-centered care. The training is part of Planetree’s Person-Centered Care designation; the only program of its kind, the designation formally recognizes an organization’s ability to deliver excellence in person-centered care and is designed to connect healthcare professionals with the voices and perspectives of their patients and their families.
Five units from across HMC were selected to pioneer the patient-centered care philosophy, with staff from the Ambulatory Care Center, Communicable Disease Center, Enaya Specialized Care Center, Home Health Care Service, and the Private Nursing Service participating. Staff from HMC’s CPESE and Nesma’ak teams also completed the workshop.
Dr. Susan Frampton, Planetree International President, said the Compassionate Human Interactions workshop is an interactive curriculum that has been delivered around the world. She said a key focus of the training is helping healthcare staff learn concrete ways to express compassion so that patients and families feel not only cared for, but also cared about.
“Person-centered care is based on the premise that quality care is not only the right care delivered at the right time, but also care delivered with attitudes of compassion,” said Dr. Frampton.
“So many trainings for healthcare professionals focus on building the skills necessary to carry out specific tasks. Planetree’s Compassionate Human Interactions workshop focuses on how these tasks should be carried out – with attitudes of caring and compassion – and showcases practical strategies for doing so,” added Dr. Frampton.
According to Mr. Nasser Al Naimi, Deputy Chief of Quality, Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement, and Director of the Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute (HHQI), the training is being provided to healthcare staff as part of ongoing efforts to enhance HMC’s ability to provide a positive patient experience while strengthening its existing culture of empathy and compassion.
“Twenty Certified Facilitators will conduct Compassionate Human Interactions training for other HMC staff. There will be another batch of Compassionate Human Interactions training in the future to cover other HMC facilities, all aimed at ensuring the best possible patient experience,” said Mr. Al Naimi.
