Faculty, staff, fellows, residents and students gathered in UAHS Plaza at noon, Friday, Feb. 16, to honor National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care with a few short speeches, singing by the UA College of Medicine – Tucson chapter of Docappella and a traditional joining of hands to form a circle.
The day, celebrated since 2011, was begun by the UA chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society after the tragic shooting of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as a way to recognize the importance of compassion between health care professionals and their patients.
The idea was inspired by UA Emergency Department physician Randall Friese, MD, who said the most important thing he had done for Giffords in the ER was to hold her hand and let her know she was in a hospital and would be cared for in the best way possible.
Since then, with support of the national Gold Humanism Honor Society, the event spread to medical school campuses across the country–more than 75 by 2018 including two in Puerto Rico. Momentum gathered particularly after the U.S. Senate passed a resolution in 2013 and 2014 to officially recognize Solidarity Day on the national calendar, and it is now typically celebrated on or around Valentine’s Day. In 2016, many chapters celebrated a week of events instead of just one day, underscoring provider-patient relationships based on caring, personalization, and mutual respect.
Click on image to see flyer of Solidarity Week 2018 events.
In Tucson, the festivities included:
- A “Be Kind” Challenge, Feb. 12-16, to record acts of kindness on slips of paper and create a “chain” to be displayed on a “Wall of Kindness.”
- The Tell Me More® Project, involving posters above patient beds to encourage meaningful conversations between medical students and patients so they get to know each other as people.
- Valentine’s Day lunch address by Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild in DuVal Auditorium (see this link for video of his talk).
- Art Aloud: Poetry Slam Contest at the UA Poetry Center.
- And today’s events in UAHS Plaza.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild (right) gave the Feb. 14 Solidarity Week Address where he spoke on recent trends in government funding for health care and how it fits (or doesn't fit) in with municipal needs to support medical care of patients and more. Click here to see related photos posted to the COM-T Workplace by Facebook app.
See a photo gallery from Feb. 16 below:
—David Mogollón
ALSO SEE:
“Solidarity Week 2018 Events Include Mayoral Address, Circle of Hands, Poetry Slam” | Posted Feb. 5, 2018