Creating empathic systems

Duration

One day

Location

We can deliver this course at your organisation or a suitable venue of your choosing.

Dates

TBC

Who is this course for?

This course is for staff across healthcare organisations who want to enhance systems, structures, and culture to support more empathic, effective, and sustainable care. It’s relevant to clinical and non-clinical leaders, quality and safety teams, service managers, improvement specialists, educators, and others with influence over policy, processes, or staff experience.

Overview

Empathy between patients and practitioners thrives when supported by empathic systems—such as design, technology, leadership, and staff culture. Modifying system level factors can lead to tangible improvements in patient satisfaction, staff wellbeing, and care outcomes.

This full day, interactive workshop brings together implementation science, systems thinking, and empathy research to help participants:

• Identify barriers and enablers of empathy within their organisation
• Co create practical, contextually appropriate solutions
• Develop a shared action plan aimed at sustained cultural transformation

The session includes small group design work, poster based ideation, informal voting, and expert facilitation. It’s ideal for organisations ready to move beyond one off training toward meaningful systems change.

This course is available by commission only. To explore setting up a workshop for your organisation, please contact us at empathy@le.ac.uk.

Feedback from previous participants:

• “I liked how interactive it was and supporting all colleagues to engage and work together for the same goals.”
• “It was very relaxed and good humoured. It really made me think about the ideas being put forward and how these can make a difference.”
• “I enjoyed the non-pressurised and supportive environment. The inspiration and creativity of the session.”
• “I liked the interactive nature, free flowing ideas and no judgement.

By the end of the course, participants will

• Understand the evidence linking system level factors to empathy, satisfaction, and outcomes
• Recognise systemic enablers and barriers to empathic care in their own organisation
• Learn creative problem solving methods for system level solutions
• Collaboratively prioritise and develop an actionable change plan
• Reflect on their role in cultivating empathic culture across teams and services

Format

This in‑person course includes:

• Facilitator-led presentations with practical examples of empathic systems in action
• Small-group exercises to explore systemic barriers, enablers, and future-focused solutions
• Creative sessions to generate ideas, identify shared priorities, and co-develop a realistic action plan tailored to your organisation’s context
• Informal group discussions and voting to highlight the strongest ideas

Preparation

No formal preparation required.

Assessment

There is no assessment for this course. The course is for your continuing professional development, and is not designed to provide a formal qualification. A certificate of completion will be provided at the end of the course.

This course provides 7 hours of CPD.

Course Fees

This course is offered on a commissioned basis only. Please contact empathy@le.ac.uk to discuss pricing and availability.

Funding and Scholarships

See separate section on Funding and Scholarships for CPD on Professional Development and Training page.

Booking

This course is commissioned directly with your organisation. Contact us at empathy@le.ac.uk to enquire.

Course Coordinator

Dr Andy Ward, Director of Education and Training at the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Associate Professor of Medical Education, and Honorary Senior Academic GP.