Education through hearing stories of care
On the second day of Care Opinion’s advent calendar, we focused on the power of gratitude to create change in healthcare. But the gifts of feedback people so generously share can create other kinds of value too.
To date, almost 700,000 stories of care can be read on Care Opinion. And this is an extraordinary resource for helping our future health professionals understand what matters to people. The stories people share on Care Opinion can and should be woven through professional training, fostering compassion and insight.
In 2024 we have worked to bring people’s stories to educators and students in nursing, medicine, and allied health professions.
For example:
- At Imperial College, medical students are using Care Opinion in their studies of clinical humanities, philosophy and law
- In Plymouth, students in emergency and urgent care are reading stories to inform their quality improvement projects
- At Ulster University, second year medical students use Care Opinion in their student-selected projects. This year, two students saw their work featured as academic conference posters or abstracts
- In Sheffield, four medical students are just finishing their thematic analyses of stories from Care Opinion, covering topics such as long Covid, autism, endometriosis and end of life care
Meanwhile, in October our James shared Care Opinion with the national education group Behavioural and Social Sciences Teaching in Medicine.
Our hope is that in 2025 we can develop new ways for students and educators to bring the voices of patients and carers into the healthcare curriculum, making even more of the extraordinary stories that people share so willingly with us.
More information on Care Opinion in education.