Pandemic puts renewed focus on importance of the patient experience

It’s Patient Experience Week! Now, more than ever, it is vital to keep the patient experience at the top of mind.

Despite visitor restrictions and other safety measures, there are lots of ways faculty and staff can improve the patient experience at Michigan Medicine. And while Patient Experience Week is the perfect time to learn about ways to improve the patient experience, it is also ideal for celebrating the people who do such work every day. 

Here are some virtual ways for you to learn and celebrate:

Monday, April 26 

Plain Pledge Activity: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

A quick, engaging activity designed to improve communication with patients by learning plain language alternatives of complex medical terminology.

• Sign up for a time slot here
• Bring a medical term for which you want a plain language substitute

Tuesday, April 27

Patient Experience 101: Patient Experience, Empathy, and What Matters Most to Patients and Families: noon – 1 p.m.

This is the first half of a two-part offering serving as an introduction to Patient Experience. Participants will receive a brief introduction to the concept of patient experience and reflect on their own experiences as patients or caregivers, recognizing how they can impact the experience of patients and their families in simple yet profound ways, regardless of their role.

• Learn more and register here

Wednesday, April 28

HOPE Awards Showcase: 11 a.m. – noon

Learn more about each of the HOPE award winners from 2020. Listen to a brief presentation by each group with an opportunity to ask questions.  

• Join us on Zoom!

Thursday, April 29

Plain Pledge Activity – 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.

A quick, engaging activity designed to improve communication with patients by learning plain language alternatives of complex medical terminology.

• Sign up for a time slot here
• Bring a medical term for which you want a plain language substitute

Patient Experience Learning Forum: 1 p.m. –  2:30 p.m.

Join us for an engaging presentation and interdisciplinary panel discussing the unique challenges posed by providing care in the virtual environment, and best practices for showing patients and families that we care.

• Click here to learn more and register

Friday, April 30

Patient Experience 101: Measurement, Service Recovery, Reconnecting to Purpose: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.

This is the second half of a two-part offering serving as an introduction to Patient Experience, and the aim is for all attendees to care about the patient’s experience at a deep and profound level.

• Learn more and register here

Other ways to participate

If you are can’t make join any of these virtual events, there are other ways to recognize and celebrate Patient Experience Week!

Because every single employee in Michigan Medicine plays an important role in patient experience, whether you are in a patient-facing or supporting role, you can show support for the patient experience. Choose and download an “I am the Patient Experience” Zoom background for your next meeting and celebrate your contribution to the patient experience.

Check out the Bright Spots Patient Experience posters: Teams from around the organization have submitted posters highlighting their specific efforts for their patients and families.

Thank you from all of us in the Office of Patient Experience

Molly Dwyer-White, on behalf of the entire Office of Patient Experience had this to say about the extraordinary work being carried out at Michigan Medicine:

“Patient Experience is really about driving a patient-centered culture of care that continuously integrates patient and family perspectives and involvement to achieve the outcomes that matter most. I think this difficult year of the pandemic has illuminated how caring and compassionate our staff members are across the organization.

Because we’ve had to limit the number of people on-site to slow the spread of COVID-19, this past year with limited family presence has been painful for all of us, conflicting with the compassionate care that we strive to provide.

Yet, it is has also been extraordinary to see staff in every role go above and beyond to extend kindness and warmth — elevating the person-to-person interactions at every encounter with patients from phone calls and check-ins to exams and at the bedside.

The care and service teams across this organization have been heroic — showing up and doing their best even when they are running on fumes. They define what providing an excellent patient experience can be, at a time when patients needed it most. I thank them wholeheartedly.”