The Schwartz Center is committed to supporting healthcare professionals with additional resources on caring for their patients, themselves and their teams during challenging times. Please find mental health and wellness resources here.
Everyone talks about shared decision-making, but most clinicians have not been trained in the specific communication skills required. To provide true patient-centered care, providers must probe to understand the patient’s unique circumstances, values, and preferences in order to help arrive at a therapeutic choice that fits his/her individual needs. This webinar reviews how to elicit patient preferences, how to communicate risks and benefits effectively, and how to recognize and help patients resolve decisional conflict.
Carol reviewed the RESPECT model, and how caregivers can use it in their daily practice, teaching and supervision. A relational model that addresses difference and power, RESPECT identifies skills to build trust with patients, especially with those who differ from the caregiver by race, culture or background. It is a helpful training tool that also guides preceptors and supervisors to partner with learners, supervisees and colleagues across differences in hierarchy. This webinar includes educational tools for observing, communicating and supervising with RESPECT. New work using RESPECT to address diversity and hierarchy on multidisciplinary teams is also highlighted.
Dr. Jackson addresses the myths and barriers associated with communicating challenging information to patients and present a cognitive model for prognostic disclosure. Viewers will gain a deeper understanding of the research supporting different communication strategies for discussing difficult content and addressing patient and caregiver emotions.
Compassionate care is critical but often an underutilized component in improving patient outcomes and reducing professional liability exposures. At its core, it means treating patients in a holistic manner, rather than focusing only upon patient illness. A growing body of research demonstrates that patient-centered care is essential to quality healthcare and has been associated with improved health outcomes, increased patient satisfaction, better adherence to treatment recommendations and fewer medical errors and malpractice claims.
Self-compassion involves treating ourselves kindly in times of emotional distress, just as we would a close friend we care about. Rather than making global evaluations of ourselves as “good” or “bad,” self-compassion involves understanding ourselves as imperfect humans, and learning to be present with the inevitable struggles of life with greater ease. It motivates us to make needed changes in our lives not because we’re worthless or inadequate as we are, but because we care about ourselves and want to lessen our suffering. This talk presented theory and research on self-compassion, which a burgeoning empirical literature shows is strongly associated with psychological well-being. It also discussed how self-compassion can be a powerful tool for caregivers, allowing us to be fully present for others while avoiding burnout and caregiver fatigue. Finally, a brief self-compassion exercise was taught, which can be practiced in daily life.