Guidelines for Healthcare Providers

The 6 C’s of Compassionate Healthcare

By integrating these principles into their interactions with patients, healthcare providers can create a more patient-centered and compassionate healthcare environment, fostering trust and positive health outcomes.

Care is at the heart of compassionate healthcare. It embodies the emotional connection, personalized attention, and holistic approach that are essential for creating a healing and supportive healthcare experience for patients.
Compassion is the driving force behind every interaction and decision in compassionate healthcare. It creates a supportive and healing environment where patients feel cared for, respected, and valued as individuals, fostering better physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes.
Commitment signifies a strong devotion to putting the patient’s needs first, striving for optimal outcomes, and ensuring patients feel valued, respected, and cared for throughout their healthcare journey.
Communication is a critical channel through which compassion in healthcare is expressed. Effective and compassionate communication ensures patients feel heard, understood, and supported, ultimately contributing to better patient outcomes and a positive healthcare experience.
Competence enhances compassionate healthcare by ensuring patients receive safe, effective, and well-informed care. It enables healthcare providers to approach their roles with confidence and expertise, ultimately contributing to positive patient outcomes and experiences.
Courage is integral to compassionate healthcare, as it involves taking bold and ethical actions to advocate for patients’ well-being and to address challenging situations to promote equitable and patient-centered care.

To Help Patients

Compassion is not to be considered only a natural quality that one has or does not. It can be learned, honed, and mastered just as suturing skills.

When reflecting on the provider-patient relationship, remember the 10 Truths of Patient Care:

The patient is the purpose of our work.
The patient is vulnerable and requires our trust.
The patient needs our loyalty to feel safe.
The patient needs our regard through comfort and caring.
The patient needs our authentic attention.
The patient’s ailment involves the physical, emotional, and psychosocial.
Know your patient – the physical, emotional, and psychosocial.
Communication is key to the provider-patient relationship.
It is the relationship that heals.
The patient must be treated as if they were U.

Provider-Patient Resources

Patient-Centered Communication: Basic Skills | AAFP

To Help Colleagues

Compassion is contagious. Empathetic mirror neurons are triggered when we experience an emotion and when we observe someone else experiencing the same emotion. People feel compassion when they see compassion. By incorporating these practices into your interactions with fellow healthcare providers, you can help create a more compassionate and supportive healthcare environment.

By incorporating these practices into your interactions with fellow healthcare providers, you can help create a more compassionate and supportive healthcare environment.

Collaborative Environment

Foster an environment where colleagues feel comfortable asking for
help or sharing their struggles without fear of judgment. Validate feelings and promote a sense of being heard and understood while being mindful of personal space and emotional boundaries. Encourage teamwork and extend a helping hand when you see a colleague overwhelmed.

Conflict Resolution

Handle conflicts respectfully and constructively. Approach disagreements
with an intention to find a solution that benefits everyone.

Check-Ins

Regularly check in on your colleagues, asking how they’re doing both personally and professionally. Acknowledge and celebrate their successes, whether big or small. This shows that you care about their well-being and contributes to boosts in morale and reinforces a positive atmosphere.

Random Acts of Kindness

Surprise your colleagues with small acts of kindness, like leaving a supportive note or offering to take on a task for them. Acknowledge birthdays, work anniversaries, and other important milestones. It demonstrates your interest in their lives beyond work.

To Self Help

Compassion fatigue impacts the health and effectiveness of healthcare providers. Compassion fatigue is the loss of the ability to empathize and have compassion for others. This is specific to care providers and occurs with great frequency in healthcare.

Cultivate your skill of self-compassion through these principles.

Common Humanity

Recognize that you’re not alone in experiencing difficulties. Understand that everyone makes mistakes and faces setbacks. Instead of feeling isolated, connect with the shared human experience of imperfection.

Mindful Self-Awareness

Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings without judgment. When
you notice self-critical or negative thoughts arising, acknowledge them without getting caught up in them. This allows you to respond more compassionately to yourself.

Balance and Perspective

Avoid over-identifying with your struggles or failures. Put your experiences in perspective by acknowledging both the challenging aspects and your strengths. This balanced view can help you avoid negative self-judgment.

Practice Self-Care

Prioritize activities that nurture your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Engage in hobbies you enjoy, practice relaxation techniques, exercise, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Taking care of your needs reinforces self-compassion.