Background

The Gold Foundation partnered with the Picker Institute in 2008 to create this program because both organizations recognized the critical importance of bringing the patient voice into residency training. It is in the hospital setting where doctors truly learn how to practice their profession.

The Picker Institute fostered a broader understanding of the concerns of patients and other healthcare consumers, and promoted the theoretical and practical changes needed to facilitate a more patient-centered approach. The Institute, which sponsored related research and education, ceased operations on Dec 31, 2012, and transitioned the Graduate Medical Education Challenge Grant Program into The Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s care.

Harvey Picker’s description of the fundamentals of patient-centered care — “understanding patients’ values, preferences and expressed needs” — will remain touchstones as The Arnold P. Gold Foundation continues to sponsor challenge grants at teaching hospitals across the country.