The Interdisciplinary Patient Partner Program: Building Better Health Care Professionals through Mentorship with Patients and Families.

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction: Patient- and Family Centered Care (PFCC) aims to promote collaborative empowering relationships among patients, families, and health care professionals. Best practice for teaching patient- and family-centred care is unknown. Methods, Results: Patient and Family Advisors were matched with an interdisciplinary group of 2-3 students from medicine, pharmacy, and nursing over a five month period to teach PFCC. Advisors provided their journey in the health care system as a basis for further exploration of the 4 pillars of Patient and Family Centered Care. 28 students and 14 Patient and Family Advisors completed the program. Overall, students and advisors were satisfied with the program. Attitudes toward family centeredness were evaluated on a scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Paired samples t-tests were conducted to gauge perceived increases over the program. All items increased significantly with large effect sizes. Discussion: Patient and Family Advisors highlighted the importance of sharing stories and exploring them through dialogue with students as a key factor in the success of the program. The Interdisciplinary Patient Partner Program also reinforced the power of relationship as a learning tool for students. The interdisciplinary nature of this program resulted in additional learning opportunities such as learning about the interdependencies between health care professionals and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to health care Conclusion: Matching medicine, pharmacy and nursing students with Patient and Family Advisors is an effective way to improve students' understanding of Patient and Family Centered Care.