Humanising Care Fellowship

The Humanising Care Fellowship is an exciting new programme for supporting the next generation of health and care leaders.

Three Fellowships are offered, each lasting six months. Fellows will undergo a programme of development and training in staff and patient experience, whilst leading projects linked to the Foundation’s mission and relevant to their area of interest.

The Fellowships were developed as part of the Foundation’s 10th Anniversary, celebrated during 2023/24. They are funded from a legacy bequeathed to the Foundation by Drusilla Harvey, an artist and teacher at the Royal College of Art.

Context

Health and care improvement has been dominated by approaches derived from industrial processes, which have privileged efficiency, reduction in waste and unwarranted variation. These have brought welcome benefits to transactional care processes. However, approaches that privilege the fundamental relational aspects of care have been neglected in comparison.

The Point of Care Foundation Humanising Care Fellowship is uniquely focused on relational aspects of care, and the importance of humanity in the symbiotic relationship between carer and cared for. Better relationships are a pre-requisite for improving all care processes.

We know that it is the human connections between people, whether that is between colleagues or between professional caregivers and patients, that fuel the delivery of person-centred care, and which provide the sense of value that professionals seek in their work. These relationships promote high morale, better connection, and more equal distribution of power in the system.

We are seeking a small cadre of three Fellows who are committed to making a difference to the humanity of care. We will provide a career-changing learning opportunity, and we will support you to apply what you have learned back in the system, expanding your sphere of influence where you work.

In return, you will become a catalyst for sharpening the focus on humanity as a fundamental aspect of care. You will become part of the Point of Care Foundation family, and an ambassador for our work. In addition, you will yourself be changed by the process, with opportunity for growth and development. Your employer organisation will see the benefits of your Fellowship in your leadership.

Find out more details about the Fellowships using the tabs below.

The Point of Care Foundation’s mission is to humanise health and care. This fellowship exists to advance this mission.

This Fellowship is to give you practical and evidence-based experience of focussing on the human aspect of care through the lenses of patient and staff experience. You will become a part of the Point of Care Foundation supported by the team to explore and contribute to the knowledge and impact of our mission. The main benefits of becoming a

Fellow will be gaining:

greater understanding of how the wider health and care system works
a focus on live issues related to healthcare culture, and patient and staff experience
different ways of seeing the challenges in your system.

They will achieve this through:

working with a network of colleagues committed to real change
exposure to senior experienced leaders through the Foundation’s core team, associates and trustees and their networks
tangible learning alongside the opportunity to be expansive and emergent
experiential learning rooted in connection and community
above all, time to think differently.

As a result they will have:

greater confidence and a wider range of practical tools to enhance and empower you as a compassionate leader
the opportunity to reflect on the principles and practice of health and care whilst pausing your day-to-day work
the chance to contribute to the knowledge and evidence base for humanising care.
the opportunity to develop assets (physical or digital) that will benefit to the mission.
enhanced transferable skills such as writing, project management, presentation skills, argument development and debating skills

Who is it for?

This Fellowship is aimed at emerging leaders across health and social care, including clinical and non-clinical professionals. You will be supported to work on an inquiry linked to the Point of Care Foundation’s strategic plan in an area of your interest and a real issue affecting the system.

We are not limiting this to a particular level, grade or discipline, as it is the human behind the label which is key to our ethos.

The Fellowship has two main components: a taught programme and a health and care system project. These will be designed to complement one another. The focus is not on academic teaching, but experiential learning which is key to the ethos of the Foundation.

Fellows will receive:

a tailored personal and professional development plan including access to the Point of Care Foundation’s training
access to the very best in leadership development consisting of several taught components, guest speakers, workshops and visits tailored to the focus of your fellowship
learning to lead in a different way. This is leadership development, but not as you know it. You will develop your skills in influencing the development of a more human system.
support of an experienced coach and mentor
access to the Point of Care Foundation alumni network
exposure to the Foundation’s faculty, with a strong emphasis on people with lived experience of health and care to challenge and shape your thinking
an action learning set to support your learning and development.

In the year following completion of your Fellowship, we will ask you to give 5 days back to the Foundation, to maintain your connection with the mission to humanise care. This will also enable us to learn about the impact of the fellowship both on the individuals’ careers as well as impact on the system. You will have an ongoing link to Foundation becoming part of our alumni and future faculty.

Fellows will conduct an inquiry into one of a number of areas that are strategically important to the Point of Care Foundation. You may, of course, propose your own topic for inquiry, as long as it advances our mission.

You will apply the knowledge and techniques you have learned on your fellowship and apply them in a real life setting in the health system, in the unique context which is here and now. You will bring your unique take on what you have learned, perhaps applying it in contexts, settings, or ways that we haven’t envisioned before. You will extract important principles about how best to promote more humanised care within the system. You will be a system disruptor.

What might these topics be?

How do we demonstrate the value and impact of humanising health and care?
What are the ways in which humanising health and care can reduce health inequalities?
What other environments where care is being delivered could Schwartz Rounds or other humanising care interventions be usefully provided?
How do we change the agenda of patient safety by understanding the human aspects of delivering and receiving care?

Fellowships will be short but immersive, supported with up to 6 months of full-time salary backfill. This will avoid the risk of attention being split between the fellowship and the day job

We will also consider secondments.

Funding will cover salary and employer costs up to a maximum of £40,000 per Fellow. Modest additional funding to cover incidental expenses such as travel and attendance at conferences will also be included.

Expenses incurred must pay due regard to the Foundation’s commitment to net zero.

The Fellowship will benefit through the support of a number of different sponsors:

Organisational sponsor: When applying for the Fellowship you will be asked to submit details for a senior leader within your organisation who will provide a supporting statement to aid your application. Your line manager and executive director lead/CEO will sign off your application.
System sponsor: If appropriate, the system sponsor will be a senior leader responsible for the strategic priority you are exploring. This sponsor will act as both mentor and enabler to ensure you have access to the key stakeholders.
The Point of Care Foundation sponsor: Each Fellow will be assigned a sponsor from within the Foundation. In the first instance this will be the CEO. This sponsor will support you to access and contribute to the work of the Foundation; supervise the project / area of enquiry and be your first point of contact at the Foundation. You will also have a connection with one of the Foundation’s trustees.