I was happy to see so many (350) attending the Health Innovation Conference this week. Thank you to all who stopped by the booth and asked your questions. It was a pleasure to meet you.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov of CancerCare Manitoba. His speech was very thought provoking for me personally. He suggested that in addition to knowledge and skills in health care that an equal amount of focus should also be spent on caring. I asked after his address if he thought that the skill of caring was being addressed in health profession education. He said that little by little he hopes the message is getting through. So in the interests of encouraging a little continuing education… if you haven’t had the chance to read this 2007 article he wrote for the BMJ it’s worth the time.
BMJ. 2007 Jul 28;335(7612):184-7.
Dignity and the essence of medicine: the A, B, C, and D of dignity conserving care. [Free]
Chochinov HM.
Abstract: Kindness, humanity, and respect—the core values of medical professionalism—are too often being overlooked in the time pressured culture of modern health care, says Harvey Chochinov, and the A, B, C, and D of dignity conserving care can reinstate them.
This is my interpretation of his speech so if you’d like to comment please feel free to do so!
