Students need to get more person-centred care knowledge and tools: Some highlights from LearnPCC conference
Conference Chair Catarina Wallengren summarizes the Learning About Person-centred Care (LearnPCC) conference.
The organizing committee would like to share some insights and highlights from LearnPCC, which took place on 12-13 December 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The overall aim of the conference was to advance person-centred approaches in healthcare education. Three themes were in focus at the conference; "Pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning of person-centredness in healthcare education”, “Creating compassionate learning environments for students in healthcare education”, and “Translating the theory of person-centredness into practice: From university learning to clinical practice”. We invited leading scholars from the Sahlgrenska Academy, as well as keynote speakers from Sweden, Finland, and Canada, along with researchers, doctoral students, and students as presenters at the conference to create vibrant and critical discussions on the topics.
The conference was opened by Gudmundur Johannsson, Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Sahlgrenska Academy, and Vice Dean at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. On the second day, the conference was opened by Ewa-Lena Bratt, Professor and Vice Dean for Internationalization and Collaboration at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.
Three Keynote Speakers including a student
We had three brilliant keynote speakers, among them Bengt Kristensson Uggla, professor of Philosophy, Culture and Management at Åbo Academy University, Turku, Finland. He talked about "Person-Centred Care: Practical Knowledge with a Need for Theoretical Foundations", and his main message was that the practical knowledge in person-centred care needs to be supported by theoretical foundations. In addition, he highlighted the discrepancy between understanding and practicing knowledge, as well as the ways in which understanding and intelligibility may differ across various traditions.
The other keynote speaker was Amanda Duregård, a nursing student at the Department of Health and Care Sciences, Gothenburg university. A quote that really resonated with many of us was Amanda's words: “You say that we students are the future workforce and that it is we who will ensure that person-centred care is applied. For us to be able to do that, we need to have more knowledge and tools from our education.” Amanda's speech aptly summarized the overarching message of the conference. We need to “Advance person-centered approaches in healthcare education” through knowledge, skills, and values shared between educational programs, students, patients, professionals, and different countries.
Our third keynote was Maria J Santa, Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada. Her speech was entitled “From Classroom to Community: Strengthening Healthcare Professional Education by Engaging Patients and the Public". She emphasized the importance of integrating community engagement into healthcare education, as this approach aims to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of healthcare education by fostering a deeper understanding of community health needs.
Interdisciplinary international delegates
One of the highlights was that the variety in the conference participants’ background. They came from Asia, Europe, and North America, and consisted of students, patients, professionals, teachers and researcher in the fields of Language Therapy, Medicine, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Radiography, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Social work, and Nursing. We had two inspiring days filled with discussions and reflections on person-centeredness in higher education. Furthermore, our reflection is that this international crowd indicates the need for a common ground to discuss pedagogical issues in fostering future person-centered health care staff.
Three conference themes
The first theme "Pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning of person-centredness in healthcare education", contained topics such as “Enhancing antiracism awareness within person-centred care among students in Sweden and the USA - an International Learning Initiative” and “Learning Person-Centred Communication Using the Four Habits Model for Midwifery Students at the University of Stavanger, Norway” were discussed.
In the second theme, "Creating compassionate learning environments for students in healthcare education", participants were invited to discussions on “Sharing the human behind the professional: How can Schwartz Rounds be utilised in healthcare education to prepare students for the emotional impact of their future roles and strengthen their ability to provide person-centred care?” and “Embedding Compassion in Counselling Curriculum: An Experiential Learning Approach”.
Finally, in the theme “Translating the theory of person-centredness into practice: From university learning to clinical practice”, topics such as “From Ethics to Practice: Person-Centred Virtual Patient Cases in Clinical Education” and “Simulating Existential Conversations in Palliative Care Using AI for Undergraduate and Advanced Level Nursing Students” were discussed.
Next steps
- We have a designated networking space on the GPCC website, with access to a LinkedIn group: Learning Related to Person-Centered Care in Health Science Education Programs.
- We will summarise the conference and publish all abstracts and reflections in the “Gothenburg Series in Person-Centred Care”. The Acta series at the University of Gothenburg is a publication series used to disseminate research findings and other scholarly works.
- We will also offer digital lunch seminars during 2025, so stay tuned to our networking space mentioned above!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the organizing committee, opening speakers, keynote speakers, moderators, and facilitators, as well as all participants for a well-executed conference. I would also like to show gratitude our to sponsors, The University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centered Care, and donors Ulrik Fallström, Annie Jonnergård, Joakim Åkerman, and Madeleine Gustafsson.
Best wishes,
Catarina Wallengren
Chair of the organizing committee LearnPCC
RN, RNT, PhD, Associate Professor, Institution of Health Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and The University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-centred Care (GPCC), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Conference awards
Further highlights of the conference included Diane Slater, a Physiotherapist, receiving the award for best poster titled “A preliminary person-centred curriculum for an e-learning programme to support physiotherapists in delivering person-centred care”, while nursing student Anna Ramstedt won the award for best image, explaining that for her, PCC is: “There are many words teachers teach us to academically represent PCC. Are those words, theories and models what defines the heartfelt meeting between me and a patient?”
Anna Ramstedt Best Image Award at LearnPCC 2024 (Picture above)
The Jury's Motivation: The image symbolises a stable and empowering partnership, where collaboration and mutual trust form the foundation. This profound representation prompts reflection on the significance of equality and shared responsibility, making it a compelling portrayal of person-centred care in action.
Diane Slater Best Poster Award at LearnPCC 2024
The LearnPCC conference, held in Gothenburg on 12–13 December, celebrates advances in person-centred care in higher education by recognising outstanding contributions from researchers. The award for Best Poster was presented to Diane Slater, a physiotherapist and researcher at Aalborg University, Denmark, for her work on designing an e-learning programme to support physiotherapists in becoming person-centred practitioners. She expresses her gratitude for the recognition and highlights how much of the programme is centred on personal growth.
- When physiotherapists attend post-qualification courses, they are often so focused on acquiring skills—on learning a new technique or deciding what exercises to prescribe. But this programme is much more than skills. It is about a way of being with people,” Diane Slater explains.
Diane Slater’s poster, titled “Designing a Preliminary Person-Centred Curriculum for a Self-Directed E-Learning Programme for Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists”, presents a systematic approach to creating a curriculum that fosters both professional skills and personal development.
- From what I hear from the physiotherapists who have undertaken the early version of the programme, they find they need to be vulnerable—to understand where they are now in their practice, to be open and ready for change, and to be brave enough to take small steps, make mistakes, and achieve that change.”
From the preliminary curriculum presented in the poster, Diane and her co-creators are developing a prototype of the programme and plan to pilot it with Danish physiotherapists.
- It’s quite interesting, as I don’t speak Danish,” she says with a laugh. “That means I have to take a step back at this stage. I would love for a group of Danish physiotherapists to take ownership of the Danish version. And once it’s translated, I won’t even know what is going on!”
Diane hopes to expand the programme to other parts of the world and translate it into various languages and contexts.
The recognition of Diane Slater’s research at LearnPCC underscores the importance of innovative approaches to person-centred education and highlights the potential of e-learning to make this form of care accessible to physiotherapists worldwide.