2020 Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care

Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care will be held across the nation from Monday, Feb. 10 to Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, to honor patients. The annual week celebrates Gold Humanism Honor Society chapters’, medical schools’ and patient care institutions’ dedication to providing compassionate, patient-centered care. Take a look back at Solidarity Week in 2018:

in 2018, the Solidarity celebration was a week long for the second year in a row, after expanding from Solidarity Day, which began in 2011. In 2013 and 2014, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to officially recognize Solidarity Day on the national calendar on or around Valentine’s Day.

In 2018, nearly 90 institutions participated in activities that engaged the entire healthcare team, including patients, in solidarity with providing compassionate patient care. In Chattanooga, Tennessee,the University of Tennessee’s Gold Humanism Honor Society hosted pet therapy sessions at the Erlanger Health System.  In Harrogate, Tennessee, Gold Humanism Honor Society Students from the Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine created The Kenley Project, which provided care boxes for patients of stillborn or premature babies within the community. And in Birmingham, Alabama, medical students at theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham taped a Magic City Medcast podcast episode on the meaning of humanism in medicine.

Many other activities were held which can be viewed below.

Students from the Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine in Puerto Rico celebrated Solidarity Week by asking participants to complete the prompt: “A doctor should be…”.  One participant’s answer, translated: “… a person who knows how to listen.” The responses were displayed for hospital visitors, patients and staff to view.


Students from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia, handed out flowers to patients, families and friends as a way to show extra-special compassionate care on Valentine’s Day. Students also visited patients at their bedside to engage in conversations.

  

The Gold Humanism Honor Society at The Ohio State University College of Medicine celebrated Solidarity Week by encouraging faculty, staff and students to fill out “I love Ohio State because…” posters. The project showed their appreciation and love for their institution and patients that it serves.

The Texas A&M College of Medicine Gold Humanism Honor Society marked Solidarity Week with a project called “Compassion is Contagious.” The students set up a table in their hospital cafeteria and asked patients, staff, faculty and others to share stories of how someone recently made them feel valued or loved. The chapter also handed out “Compassion is Contagious” bracelets to help spread the compassion and love throughout the hospital.