Patient Centred Care
The Learning Need: Caring for patients in a patient centered way
Patient centeredness is a state of being that has become a “need-to-have” skill rather than a “nice-to-have” skill in healthcare today. There is scientific evidence to suggest that a patient's ability to heal depends on it.
This! is a story about two patients and two care givers. Miryanna and Kyra are two patients who are critically ill. They have very definite views on the outcomes that they expect and the care they need to get those outcomes.
Ann Marie and Alice are two very competent and caring clinicians who are excellent at their work and dedicated to the welfare of their patients. Their intention is to do the best they can for Miryanna and Kyra, but neither is able to hear them describe what they need. The patients' care, the very thing that each of them values so much, is in jeopardy.
Participants work with each patient character through processes designed to help them understand what is at risk when patients and their needs are not truly at the center of their care. They learn how to have important, respectful and impactful conversations with their patients, leading to aligning their own needs with those of the patient.
This story has been successfully adapted to a story about pediatric patients for the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. Parts of it have also been adapted and expanded to help with York University, School of Nursing's program on HOBIC.
HOBIC (Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care) is about understanding
and measuring the impact of nursing on patients' healing. We know that until
HOBIC is used to change the way nurses engage with their patients,
this tool will be for naught. This simulation helps our client
participants engage in this conversation.
~ Deborah Tregunno, PhD
York University School of Nursing, Toronto