Kindness is the Key to Better Communication in Healthcare Teams
A recent study conducted by researcher Nicki Macklin has shed light on the importance of kindness within healthcare teams. Macklin defined kindness as action-oriented, positively focused, and purposeful in nature. She believes that kindness could be the key to improving communication within healthcare teams and ultimately enhancing patient care.
According to Macklin, kindness is built on a foundation of civility and involves actions that demonstrate respect, generosity, openness, and inclusion. It is a mindset and approach that aims to maintain the respect of others, especially during times of conflict. While kindness is often associated with compassion and empathy, Macklin emphasizes the distinction between these terms.
Compassion involves responding to others’ suffering with a desire to alleviate that suffering, while empathy is an internal, emotional response that informs action. Kindness, on the other hand, is a set of actions driven by a desire to help others flourish, whether in response to empathy or through proactive choice.
Macklin highlights the potential for greater kindness to be embedded in the culture of healthcare teams and organizations. By fostering a culture of kindness, communication within teams and with patients can be improved, leading to enhanced patient experiences of safety and trust. This can be achieved through measures such as incorporating kindness into medical education, policies, and organizational practices.
While compassion and empathy are important components of patient care, Macklin argues that kindness can exist even when clinicians are experiencing burnout. However, she emphasizes the need for organizations to create environments that support and sustain kindness among individuals and teams.
Macklin’s research is based on her personal experiences as a patient advocate and her observations of healthcare teams during her child’s illness. She believes that witnessing effective healthcare teams interact with each other had a significant impact on her sense of safety and trust as a patient.
In her future studies, Macklin plans to further investigate the role of kindness in healthcare by surveying and interviewing healthcare professionals globally. She hopes that kindness will become a fundamental principle of healthcare at every level, ultimately leading to improved patient care and outcomes.
In conclusion, Macklin stresses the importance of kindness in healthcare, citing its strong correlation with patient experience and safety measures. By promoting kindness within healthcare teams and organizations, we can enhance patient care, foster better communication, and ultimately create a safer and more trusting healthcare environment.
