Keeping the Patient at the Center: Teaching About Elements of Patient-Centered Care

INTRODUCTION: There is growing interest in delivering patient-centered care in all areas of medical practice, yet acquiring the requisite attitudes, skills, and behaviors simply by observing or participating in current systems of care that employ a medical or physician-centric model is challenging. Patient centeredness involves an understanding of patients’ perspectives on their illness and treatment, the impact that health and illness have on the lives of patients, and the values and goals patients have for themselves, while also encouraging patients and health care professionals to engage in a shared decision-making model of health care. That model aspires to result in increased trust between providers and patients, as well as better patient outcomes. METHODS: This 90-minute workshop utilizes three different approaches to help the learner develop patient-centered care and communication skills in a mental health setting: a video of a patient sharing her experience with the mental health system, a narrative model of appreciating patient experience (first-person memoir), and an exercise using patient-centered language in a medical record documentation. RESULTS: This workshop was presented at the American Association of Psychiatric Directors of Residency Training (AADPRT) Annual Meeting in March 2016. Approximately 21 people attended. Feedback was received from 11 participants and demonstrated a high degree of agreement (4.5 out of 5) with the following statements: the speakers met the stated educational objectives; the content was educationally useful; the information in this presentation will inform my educational practices; the presentation advanced my knowledge of the subject. DISCUSSION: While these three pedagogical exercises do not cover the entirety of the skills required for patient-centered care and communication, they do provide a useful starting point for hearing and appreciating the experience of the patient. Despite the focus on mental health settings and treatment, other medical specialties could derive useful ideas from this workshop format or adapt the materials to their own needs.