Empathy experts share ground-breaking work on global stage
Dr Andy Ward
A Leicester team which is on a mission to provide the NHS with empathic and compassionate doctors and nurses has shared its work on the global stage.
The Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, based at the University of Leicester, is pioneering a dynamic programme of education and training which positions empathy at the heart of healthcare.
Their work is based on research which shows that empathic healthcare leads to better outcomes for patients and improves the wellbeing of healthcare professionals.
Six experts from the centre shared their work with more than 450 delegates from all over the world at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare in Spain earlier this month.
During the conference, Dr Andy Ward, from The Stoneygate Centre, was also awarded the Fellowship of EACH (The International Association for Communication in Healthcare) and the EACH Teaching Award. The award is given to teachers of communication in healthcare who have made a significant and outstanding contribution to healthcare communication education.
Centre director, Professor Jeremy Howick, said: “The conference brought together healthcare researchers, teachers, practitioners and policy makers from across the globe and provided an incredible opportunity for an international exchange of educational ideas and policy activities.
“Our team presented a workshop, a symposium, three oral presentations and a poster which showcased the innovative work we are doing at our centre.
“We also took part in a lively debate on the use of AI in healthcare and whether chatbots can be as empathic as human clinicians“It was a brilliant conference to be a part of and we were thrilled to see our colleague Andy awarded with the EACH Fellowship and the EACH Teaching Award.”
During the conference, the team discussed the need to improve the empathy of healthcare systems and encouraged attendees to share ideas from their own practice on how to foster a culture of empathy in healthcare organisations.
They shared their research on empathic healthcare and its impact on patient satisfaction with care and how involving patients in biomedical science lectures can promote empathy in medical students.
They also led a workshop on teaching an empathy-focused approach to consultations with annoyed, upset or angry patients.
During the event the Compassionate Holistic Diagnostic Detective course led by Dr Andy Ward which provides students with empathic clinical skills training was also praised by The EACH Teaching Award committee.
At The Stoneygate Centre, Dr Ward has developed innovative and evidence-based teaching interventions that increase and sustain empathy in medical students and practicing healthcare professionals.
On Tuesday, October 8, he is leading a workshop for healthcare practitioners called Putting evidence-based empathy into practice. It is designed for professionals who want to develop empathic evidence-based practice to improve patient care and reduce practitioner burnout.
For further information about the workshop visit the website