Groundbreaking masterclasses to drive forward empathic healthcare

Some of the world’s greatest champions of treating patients with empathy will share their expertise with healthcare professionals during a series of groundbreaking masterclasses.  

Healthcare professionals are increasingly realising the importance of treating patients with empathy because it has been shown to improve both patients’ outcomes and their experiences of healthcare.

In September, leading empathic experts will deliver masterclasses at the Global Empathy in Healthcare Network Symposium in Leicester to help health providers from around the world drive forward empathic healthcare.

Professor Jeremy Howick, director of the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare at the University of Leicester, and co-founder, with Catherine Eyres, of the Global Empathy in Healthcare Network, said: “There’s a growing body of evidence that shows the benefits of empathy in healthcare to both patients and healthcare professionals.

“It leads to improved outcomes and better experiences of healthcare for patients and helps professionals to cope with the pressures of fast-paced healthcare systems.

“At this year’s symposium some of the very best people working in the field of empathic healthcare will show how we can rehumanise care in an era of technological advancements and remote interactions.

“This event will give attendees plenty of opportunities to explore how empathy can be integrated into healthcare practices and how we can overcome barriers to human connection.”

Dr Andy Ward, an Associate Professor of Medical Education and Honorary Senior Academic GP at the University of Leicester and Director of Education and Training at Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, will deliver a masterclass on ‘Empathy on the Margins: Breaking down barriers in inclusion healthcare’.

Jennifer G Adams, MD, the inaugural Frankfort Family Director at the Center for Empathy in Medicine, will deliver a masterclass on ‘Lights, Camera, Empathy: Using an Animated Film Curriculum to Foster Empathy, Improve Team Dynamics and Enhance Patient-Centred Care’.

The Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare National Patient Advisory Board will lead a masterclass on ‘The good, the bad and the not so ugly: Exploring patients’ experiences of the impact of empathy (or lack of it!)’.

Leading experts from the UK, Germany and Ireland will also deliver a masterclass on ‘Cultivating Empathy in the Classroom: Developing a teaching toolbox for compassionate clinicians’.

The conference will also feature award-winning plenary speakers including CBS News’ Chief Medical Correspondent Jonathan LaPook who is Professor of Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, an internist and gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health, and the Founder and President of the NYU Langone Empathy Project.

The Global Empathy in Healthcare Network Symposium is being delivered in association with the International Association for Communication in Healthcare (EACH) and will take place in Leicester on 15 and 16 September. It is open to healthcare professionals, researchers, educators and advocates from around the world. Early bird rates for symposium tickets are available until Friday, 16 May.

To find out more about the symposium and for bookings, visit the Global Empathy in Healthcare webpage.