The Gold Foundation offered its Tell Me More® tool in a downloadable kit for free during the first two years of the pandemic for care of COVID-19 patients, including those suspected to have the illness. Tell Me More® is an easy way to help the health team connect with patients on a more human level. The human connection is critical in healthcare in ordinary times. Finding innovative ways to connect in the face of distancing and protection necessities is even more urgent in this crisis.
The free Tell Me More® for COVID-19 Care kit has ended. If your institution is interested in using Tell Me More and purchasing a license, please contact Senior Director of Strategy and Business Development Pia Pyne Miller at pmiller@gold-foundation.org.
A patient can too easily be reduced to their room number, diagnosis, and prognosis. The goal of Tell Me More® is to transcend those necessary but superficial details to reinforce that a patient is a full, complex, and vibrant human.
By increasing communication and trust, patients can feel more hopeful and more confident in their care. By sharing this connection, the health team also benefits – research has shown that connection helps with clinicians’ own well-being and serves as an aid in preventing burnout.
For Gold Humanism Honor Society chapters planning to use Tell Me More® during Solidarity Week, please go to the Solidarity Week page to access the kit.
In a typical hospital care setting, Tell Me More® prompts a member of the health team to engage with a patient about their life and values. Using a list of open-ended questions created by the Gold Foundation, a member of the care team has a short, meaningful conversation with a patient to learn more about them. Together, they add details that the patient wants the care team to know to the Tell Me More® wall poster. This allows healthcare professionals to connect more easily and the patient to be seen more fully.
Given the need to avoid transmission of the novel coronavirus, hanging a paper Tell Me More® wall poster inside a patient’s room may not be feasible or advisable. Instead, the Gold Foundation suggests hanging the sign in the window of the patient’s room, with the information visible to the patient and healthcare professionals inside the room. This is a clear reminder to the patient and the team that they are being seen and cared for as a full person.