Twenty staff from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) have been awarded a Fellowship in Person-Centred Care by internationally-renowned US-based healthcare organisation Planetree International.

The twenty staff from the HMC Center for Patient Experience and Staff Engagement (CPESE) are the first in the world to receive the prestigious Fellowship.

The Fellowship was awarded to the CPESE staff during Qatar’s inaugural Patient Experience Forum, held in Doha in November. The HMC CPESE has also been honoured as the world’s first ‘Planetree Professional Department’ and was presented with the ‘Early Adopters of the Planetree Fellow in Person-Centred Care Program’ designation at the Planetree Person-Centred Care Conference held in Orlando, Florida earlier this year.

Nasser Al Naimi, CPESE Deputy Chief of Quality and Director of Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute, said the first group of Person-Centred Care Fellows at HMC have forged a new path for the organisation.

Becoming a Fellow signals not only their conviction that person-centred care is the right thing to do, but also their professional track record of putting person-centred care into action. The process for becoming a Fellow focuses on expanding one’s knowledge about person-centred approaches to care, and then applying that knowledge to make healthcare better.’

He said HMC is honoured to be associated with the Fellow in Person-Centred Care credential as it demonstrates the priority the organisation places on providing person-centred care.

HMC signed a three-year partnership with Planetree in 2018 to strengthen CPESE’s capabilities by providing strategic direction and support to further enhance their commitment to putting the patient first.

HMC is the first hospital system in the world to implement the Planetree Fellows in Person-Centred Care Program. The Planetree Fellowship Program recognises qualified healthcare professionals and students who have successfully expanded their knowledge of person-centred approaches and applied this knowledge in the field.’

The fellowship programme is based on the principles of person-centred care and requires participants to provide evidence for a range of activities based on the three domains of learning, doing, and sharing:

  • Learning: Focuses on continuous learning to inform one’s professional pursuits and passions related to person-centred care.
  • Doing: Focuses on the practical application of person-centred care knowledge in the field. This includes working directly with patients and their family members. It also involves improvement activities and community service.
  • Sharing: Focuses on sharing with patients and family members, staff and the broader community person-centred care practices and educating on ways that improve health and well-being.

Dr Susan Frampton, President of Planetree International said the fellowship programme was not just a first for Qatar, but internationally.

Working together, Planetree and HMC’s dedicated CPESE team have developed a unique recognition of excellence. The Fellow in Person-Centered Care credential not only signifies a thorough knowledge base of person-centred care, but requires evidence of the practical application of that knowledge to one’s work to advance the field of patient experience.

Learn more at hamad.qa.