Lightning Talk Description: Engagement with patients, family and caregivers as educators is invaluable to prospective and current health professions learners. Providing an opportunity for patients to share their lived experiences with prospective and current healthcare providers can offer an opportunity for these participants to hone their patient-centric skills. However, sharing stories publicly makes patient-partners susceptible to vulnerability. In this context, it is the state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed emotionally.
We use ‘patient-partner’ as an overarching and inclusive term for individuals with lived experience of health and/or social conditions, and the health care system who are keen to share these experiences with students.
To ensure the healthcare system is centred on understanding, care, compassion, and humanness, it is important to incorporate patient-partners in health professions’ education. Patient-partners share their lived experience to provide an opportunity for learners to reflect on and learn with, from, and about each story. Simultaneously, patient-partners experience a sense of pride in their civic contribution by knowing that their lived experience can enrich care delivery for future patients2.
In this session, through sharing our own challenging experiences as patient-partners in education, we outline recommendations for those working with patient-partners in health professions' education:
1. Patient-partners need to consider if they are ready to share their story. Some stories are wounds requiring further healing; other stories are scars fully processed by patient-partners and ready to be shared publicly. Illness experiences may be traumatic, and care needs to be taken before sharing these stories.
2. The audience should differentiate between questions that can promote critical thinking versus feel like a “personal attack”. Audiences should recognize vulnerability patient-partners may experience in sharing their stories and engage accordingly. Criticism is detrimental when it is not focused on improvement, blames, or dictates the ‘right way’ to do things.
3. Pre-session and post-session debriefs are important. Shared stories may elicit intense emotions from patient-partners and audiences. Both groups should be given an opportunity to process and work through emotions. Workshops on sharing stories and debrief sessions after activities involving sharing are recommended.
Understanding the vulnerability that patient-partners experience through sharing their stories of lived experience can make participants more reflective listeners and learners. With the right support and preparation of educational sessions, these can be an enlightening experience for both the patient-partners and learners.
In support of improving patient care, this activity is planned and implemented by The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education Office of Interprofessional Continuing Professional Development (National Center OICPD). The National Center OICPD is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a Jointly Accredited Provider, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
The National Center OICPD (JA#: 4008105) is approved by the Board of Certification, Inc. to provide continuing education to Athletic Trainers (ATs).
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.
Physicians: The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education designates this live activity for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with their participation.
Physician Assistants: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.
Nurses: Participants will be awarded contact hours of credit for attendance at this workshop.
Nurse Practitioners: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians: This activity is approved for contact hours.
Athletic Trainers: This program is eligible for Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
Social Workers: As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the National Center is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The National Center maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive continuing education credits.
IPCE: This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
Learners can claim CE credit by completing the Daily Evaluation.
