Empathy in healthcare settings has been consistently linked to improved patient health outcomes (Surchat et al., 2022). Yet clinicians do not consistently apply empathy, which includes affective, cognitive, and behavioral components, to help ease fears and worries and build trust with their patients and families. This educational activity is designed to support Physicians, Physician's Assistants, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners who work together, as a team, in the ambulatory and acute care setting to improve the patient experience through the demonstration of competencies in utilizing empathy-promoting communication strategies.

The Relationship Centered Care Program consists of three separate workshops designed to enhance the healthcare clinical providers skill set using the techniques listed here during their encounters with their patients and families:

• Expressing empathy, compassion, trust, and relationship building and making lasting personal connections with patients

• Use of agenda setting and finding out what matters most to meet the patient and family’s needs

• Engage the patient and family as a partner and supporting patient self-care

• Assess cultural beliefs about health to meet the unique needs of diverse patient and family populations

• Providing information in a clear and respectful way to ensure understanding

• Managing difficult encounters and resistance in a way that supports open communication and patient autonomy

Educational components include 1:1 performance observation, feedback, and coaching to build provider skill capability through evidence-based tool application to express empathy, compassion, rapidly build trust, make connections with patients and patient care givers, set agendas in order to meet the needs of the patient and family during the encounter, and engage them as a partner in self-care management support.