As the corona epidemic is not only related to challenging and unknown clinical aspects, the psycho-social aspects of this storm have been recognized early on by Sheba and MSR – as an important need for all involved – patients, families and staff.
Furthermore, as the corona epidemic is creating a huge need to distance patients and families from caretakers as much as possible – to protect both sides, the shift towards Tele-Medicine technologies has become a major feature of the new reality. Thus, training health professionals to conduct medical rounds via distant technologies, and establishing trust and conveying compassionate care through screens are new territories and a new set of skills that MSR has taken upon itself to improve through simulation-based training.
Sheba is also preparing itself to connect family members and patients via screen technologies in order to alleviate the isolation of patients from their families. This will include potential end-of-life scenarios in which this technology will be the only medium available to say goodbye to loved ones. MSR will be instrumental in training healthcare professionals for these compassionate and emotional scenarios.
The following training courses have been developed:
Communication skills - development of protocols and training for delivering the news that someone is infected by the virus and the need to be hospitalized in isolation and the support for those patients' families. This program evolved into a comprehensive simulation-based training for social workers and psychologists who are maintaining contact with families on the phone. Thus, MSR's actors were recruited to serve as family members of various cultural backgrounds to challenge Sheba's professionals during the ongoing phone conversations.
Tele-medicine – communication skills - Training social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists to provide treatment via telemedicine for patients and their families since outpatients will not be able to come to the hospital for treatment sessions.
