Page Comparison

Professors' reflections

“Our collaboration with Patients Know Best has produced many positive outcomes. Our students are getting a hands-on experience of communicating with patients using remote technologies – something that will prepare them for an increasingly important element of clinical care. The project has also enabled students to find out from patients what it is like to live with a long-term condition through interactions that have taken place over several months. This has allowed them to develop a deeper understanding of the issues patients face than could be achieved in a time-limited classroom teaching session. On top of that, many of the patients involved have gained from their participation, getting support from students and gaining confidence that could help them in their future contacts with healthcare services.” - Dr Andy Ward, Senior Clinical Educator (Leicester University)

 

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“As I embark onto my future as a Doctor, it is looking more and more likely that my practice will have a higher proportion of online consultations, similar to that shown to us with PKB. As a result, it’s fundamental that I must continue to treat each patient I encounter with the same active attention and empathy as I would have done if done in person. Following our conversations, I feel more passionate to ensure my patients feel valued.... I don’t want ‘patient centred care’ to be an empty phrase to my patients as I want them to be involved in their care and feel listened to. Moreover, as Covid has proven, technology will be at the forefront of healthcare consultations in the near future. Thus, this opportunity to use e-consultations has allowed me to hone skills that will be vital in future interactions with patients. What terrified me at the beginning was that I didn’t know what to expect from speaking to the two patients. I didn’t think I’d have anything useful to say or that I would say the wrong things. However, they were both so kind and made all of us feel safe. I genuinely think that they enjoyed our conversations and we very much did as well. I gained a lot of confidence in myself and I started working towards improving it in other ways, but I do believe that PKB was the first step towards bettering my communication skills.”

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“It’s much more than what you’d get out of a 10min GP appointment.”

“The students I worked with this year were amazing. They were good to talk to and helped me when I was having a bad day. They recommended I speak to my doctor about some of the symptoms I was experiencing. I was referred to hospital and am now the proud owner of a Pacemaker which has turned my life around and feel so much better than I have for years. Because I asked each one to send a photograph of themselves it built up a kind of friendship with them. It has been a pleasure to do PKB with them. Also, they did their research when I told them I had eosinophilic asthma; it was obvious that they had done their research and looked into this condition. I have really enjoyed the experience and the two groups of medical students – the groups have been lovely to talk to as well. Their questions have certainly given me something to think about during the last academic year and lockdown after Christmas.”