Evidence-based empathy skills for healthcare practitioners (In person)

Duration

One day

Location

University of Leicester (in person)

Dates 

• 4 June 2026
• 3 June 2027

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for all healthcare professionals and trainees—regardless of specialty or level of experience—who want to enhance their communication skills, reduce burnout, and strengthen their connection to patients. It is suitable for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and others working in clinical or patient-facing roles.

Overview

This immersive one-day course is designed for healthcare professionals and trainees who want to deepen their empathy skills, reduce burnout, and improve both patient outcomes and their own wellbeing.

You’ll gain practical tools, backed by the latest research, to help you:

• Communicate more effectively and compassionately
• Build better therapeutic relationships
• Navigate emotionally complex clinical encounters
• Reconnect with your sense of purpose in healthcare

The day includes interactive workshops, evidence-based frameworks, patient stories, and communication role plays using simulated patients. Delegates leave with tangible strategies to use in their daily practice and a personal empathy commitment.

Feedback from previous participants:

• “We all care, we just got super busy and lost our empathy on the way. The workshop helped us focus on what matters and why we are healthcare practitioners.”
• “Really fantastic, thank you. The group work really helped me think about how to implement what I had learned. Lots of opportunity to ask questions.”

By the end of the course, participants will

• Understand the latest evidence linking empathy with improved patient, practitioner, and system outcomes
• Develop usable empathic verbal and non-verbal communication to improve patient care and wellbeing
• Build skills to navigate emotionally complex clinical encounters
• Reflect on personal experiences of empathy in healthcare
• Use tools such as the CARE Measure and BATHE technique to support empathic consultations
• Commit to an individual empathy habit to embed learning in everyday practice

Format

The course follows a workshop format, featuring:

• Facilitated group discussions
• Interactive patient stories
• Communication skills role plays with simulated patients
• Practical tools (CARE Measure, BATHE technique)
• Opportunities for reflection and feedback
• Fun activities such as quizzes and a caption competition to reinforce learning

Preparation

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 

Early Bird: £195 (available until 4 weeks before the course date)
Standard Fee: £295

Funding and Scholarships

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

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.

Co-facilitator

Dr Raj Babla Clinical Implementation Lead