On Friday February 13, 2015 over 90 institutions participated in celebrating National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care. Typically held on or near Valentine’s Day, this day is marked by a celebration where medical schools, patient care institutions and other organizations around the country show their support of the importance of kindness to patients.
Many institutions have created traditions over the past few years that they continued to observe this year. Others joined in the new Tell Me More program where medical students learned about their patients’ personal lives and shared that knowledge with other care providers by crafting signs for display over patients’ beds. Here are a variety of photos and quotes from the day to demonstrate the range of meaningful ways the day was celebrated. You can see additional photos on our Facebook page.
“At University of Rutgers we made heart-shaped baskets for patients of the Student Family Health Clinic living in temporary shelters. The baskets contained toiletries and a chocolate treat. The patients were extremely happy to receive them.”
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
“We went with no agenda other than to listen. Sometimes not having an agenda can make us uncomfortable, [thinking] ‘we will not have enough to do!’ The patients, as they often are, were our teachers. There was much accomplished. We did not ‘just’ listen. We *listened*. And patients were deeply grateful. (We were too.)”
“We were able to do the Tell Me More program with over 50 patients and passed out 250 roses all over the hospital! One patient was particularly touching, as I spoke with him it was obvious he was a man who did not have many visitors or people to call. He told me he liked to play instruments and used to work as a Certified Nurse Assistant. The tables had turned and he was now the patient and was taking the transition hard. He was so appreciative we took the time to sit with him and see him as a person, instead of merely a disease.”
University of Missouri
“At SUNY Upstate Medical we gifted pill boxes to our patients in honor of Solidarity Day.”
SUNY Upstate Medical
“We serve a patient population that people might consider forgotten. We wanted to identify patients who were either lonely or had not had visitors. We were able to sit with 48 patients, hear their story, and let them know the medical staff cares about them as people. It was beautiful.”
University of Arizona
Gold Humanism Honor Society National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care is supported by generous donations to the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. See more photos on our Facebook page.