Patient Speaker, New Employee and Volunteer C.A.R.E. Orientations, Island Health

Are you comfortable speaking to audiences (5-50 people) about your patient experience and what health care staff and volunteers bring to this experience? Share your story and help set the tone of person and family centred care for new employees and volunteers at Island Health!

Open to:   Patient partners from across the Island Health region

Lead Organization or Department

Island Health – Volunteer Resources in partnership with People and Organizational Development departments (HR Client Services, Organizational Development & OH&S)

Aim

In-person orientations for new employees and volunteers are held across Vancouver Island to bring a warm welcome, inspiration, and information about patient partners and Island Health’s C.A.R.E. values (Courage, Aspire, Respect and Empathy). The purpose of engaging patient partners in these orientations is to open a dialogue on the importance of the patient experience, and the role that health care staff and volunteers have in this experience. The patient partner will have an opportunity to share their patient experience story at the orientation, following which, staff and volunteers will be able to ask questions about how they can support patients in the best way possible.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.

Eligibility

• Comfortable speaking to large groups of people (up to 50 in a room)
• Comfortable sharing their experience of receiving care at Island Health. *Please note: The goal of the patient story portion of the orientation is to help staff and volunteers reflect on how they can positively contribute to a patients’ experience. Patient partners are asked to reflect on their healing and/or grieving journeys and choose which elements (positive and negative) of their patient experience they feel they can safely share with the group to contribute to this goal. Coaching support and/or practice sessions can be made available by request.
• Not open to patient partners who are currently employed by Island Health
• Patient partners should have previously attended a PVN orientation session. If you have not attended an orientation but are interested please contact Kira Tozer directly to see if accommodations may be possible.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 6
• Date/Time/Location: Orientations last 1-1.5 hours and are held every month, rotating between morning and afternoon sessions.  In 2018 there will be sessions held in: Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Parksville & Campbell River.
• Commitment: Patient Partners are asked to join 2 or 3 sessions over a 1 year period. Possibility of extending beyond 1 year.  At each session, patient partners will be given ~20/25 mins to share their patient experience and answer questions from the audience.

Reimbursement

Costs associated with mileage, transit & parking to attend the C.A.R.E. orientations  will be reimbursed by Island Health.

Background

The C.A.R.E. orientations have been developed based on feedback from staff not feeling connected to the organization when they are hired. Having an in person session allows people to network and experience a warm welcome into the organization. These sessions are general in nature so no clinical knowledge is required from patient partners.  Person and Family Centred Care is important and by including a patient speaker at these orientations it will allow the group a chance to discuss it.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Kira Tozer
Engagement Leader, Patient & Public Engagement | Vancouver Island
250.888.4525
ktozer@bcpsqc.ca