Impact of a compassionate care leadership programme

Abstract

Compassionate care delivery enhances patient satisfaction and quality of life and reduces nurse burnout. This study measured the perceptions of nursing and midwifery leaders regarding the impact of the ‘Leaders for Compassionate Care Programme’ on their personal development, learning experience, service and care delivery, programme quality, and satisfaction with the programme. Seventy-nine leaders were surveyed using the Leaders for Compassionate Care Outcomes Evaluation Questionnaire and the Leaders for Compassionate Care Evaluation Questionnaire. Participants' perceived ability to support peer learning, manage conflict, and build trust with patients increased significantly following the programme (P≤0.001). Over 80% of participants reported that they were able to apply to practice what they had learnt from the programme and reported an increase in their motivation to lead in compassionate care delivery. Various strategies are needed to improve compassionate care leadership and further research is needed to explore the long-term impact of the programme.

What works for whom in compassion training programs offered to practicing healthcare providers: a realist review

“…At the healthcare system level, compassion training was predominantly triggered by system-related failures characterized by: poor leadership and team practices [ 18 , 83 – 87 ]; a culture that favored high patient throughput over the relational aspects of care [ 88 , 89 ]; and patient complaints about gaps in the provision of compassionate care [ 90 , 91 ]. At the individual healthcare provider level, compassion training addressed the need to: nurture innate compassion; reduce learner stress; and improve learner clinical competence.…”

“…Workplace-based programs benefited from an implementation phase where program facilitators with strong motivational and interpersonal skills provided training through mentorship, role modeling, and feedback to develop leadership and team capacity and instill a caring culture into the healthcare environment [ 83 , 84 , 95 , 96 ]. Compassion training aimed at individual learners was optimized by professionally trained program facilitators and instructors who supervised learners, were familiar with the local healthcare culture, were good at explaining content, generated interest in the topic of compassion, created a safe environment, and provided support and helpful feedback [ 67 , 85 – 87 , 100 ]. Senior managers as facilitators were considered a potential barrier to compassion training, as their presence made learners less willing to disclose their shortcomings and conveyed a sense that teaching was addressing a deficiency in individual healthcare providers [ 98 ].…”

“…Staff empowerment enabled learners to see themselves as innovators of compassionate actions. Compassion training motivated learners to explore issues within their practice and interpersonal relationships, to directly share ideas with their senior managers on improving compassion in practice, and to implement changes in their relational capacity [ 18 , 66 , 71 , 83 – 85 , 87 – 89 , 95 , 96 , 99 , 103 ]. Not all ideas were applied due to uncertainty about whose responsibility it was to authorize them, which was demoralizing for some learners [ 83 , 84 , 95 ].…”

“…Group sessions in a warm, welcoming, respectful and nonjudgmental atmosphere created a sense of belonging and a common goal, fostered support among learners, allowed learners to be models for each other in using the tools and practices provided by the training, and created networks in which learners developed critical friendships with peers, especially when the atmosphere was non-hierarchical [ 18 , 73 , 85 , 87 – 89 , 94 ]. For learners who felt intimidated by larger groups, a team approach or implementing a series of smaller group sessions was preferred [ 98 ].…”

“…Experiential/hands-on learning through role play and case-base scenarios allowed learners to explore roles that were different from their own, and provided learners the opportunity to reflect and make clinical judgments in a safe environment, form new concepts, and learn [ 64 , 85 – 87 , 91 , 94 , 97 ]. Experiential/hands-on learning enabled many learners to become aware of their own values and draw parallels with real life; however, some learners did not see the significance of the approach and expressed resentment at being required to participate in what they considered to be an uncomfortable experience [ 64 , 91 ].…”