23 January 2025
Our new one-day course highlights patient-centered care through storytelling, focusing on communication, diversity, shared decision-making, and service design, empowering healthcare professionals to improve practice and deliver more inclusive, patient-focused care.
We spoke to Georgia Bishop, a patient representative who is a speaker at the course about what to expect on the day and why it’s not to be missed.
Why do you believe it's essential for healthcare professionals to attend the Patient Voices in Rheumatology course?
Healthcare professionals should attend events showcasing real-life patient experiences to better understand the emotional, psychological, and practical aspects of care. Hearing first-hand accounts fosters empathy, highlights challenges beyond medical conditions, and reveals gaps in the healthcare system. This encourages more patient-centered approaches, improved communication, and a culture of compassion and continuous improvement.
What will patients share during the course that attendees might not get elsewhere?
Patients are invited to share their health journey in this course, a discussion that doesn’t happen often within clinical settings due to time constraints and the need to discuss medical decisions. This platform allows patients to share the impact that professionals have had on them and their conditions, emotionally and personally as well as medically.
There will also be sessions focusing on service design and research, where patients are able to share their experiences of being involved in change projects and research studies. They will focus on highlighting the benefits and learnings points of the projects they have collaborated on with the hope to inspire the audience to make changes in their own clinical settings.
What’s one thing you wish every healthcare professional understood about living with a rheumatological condition?
Living with a chronic illness like arthritis goes further than the medical impacts, it affects your relationships, mental health, careers and who you become as a person. The communication within appointments, clinics and medical decisions must respect the impact on all of those other factors in life that having a condition can affect.
What message would you like to share with someone who is considering booking the course but hasn’t decided yet?
This course provides an innovative style of education, one that focuses on the impact of those who are at the forefront of care from healthcare professionals. Hearing patient voices provides valuable insights into the patient's experiences, needs, and concerns, fostering a more compassionate and personalised approach to care.
What do you hope healthcare professionals will take away from this course regarding patient engagement?
I hope healthcare professionals understand the depth of needs their patients have from how they communicate with them, the different approaches to care and having respect for patient emotions involved in every conversation and decision-making process. Receiving patient feedback and suggestions through listening to their perspective within this course will improve the service overall.
I also hope it provides them with the resources and tools to go away and feel confident in making changes to their everyday practice.
Why is it important for patient voices to be heard in rheumatology, and how does this course facilitate that?
This course facilitates patient voices by using real-life experiences as the foundation of the event programme. It gives a platform to the experiences of patients from all backgrounds, conditions, and relationships with healthcare professionals. The positioning of patient stories alongside expert professionals creates the most impactful education event.
How will sharing your story with healthcare professionals impact your journey and theirs?
Patients need to have the opportunity to share their stories because it empowers them to actively participate in their healthcare journey. They provide crucial context that helps healthcare professionals understand their unique challenges, fears, and priorities. Whilst the patients may not be addressing their professionals in the room, this opportunity encourages open dialogue that fosters trust and strengthens relationships. Moreover, sharing their story can be therapeutic for patients, helping them process their emotions and feel heard, which can improve their overall well-being and contribute to better health outcomes.
Don’t miss out on this great course!