In a spirit of openness and camaraderie, Johns Hopkins Medicine leaders recently came together with patient volunteers for a panel discussion about the patient experience. It was the second straight year that representatives from all six Johns Hopkins Patient and Family Advisory Councils—adult, oncology, ambulatory, emergency department, pediatrics, and teen/young adult—gathered to address concerns.

The event, which drew more than 100 people, also provided a chance for these volunteers to socialize and exchange ideas over dinner. Lisa Allen, Johns Hopkins Medicine chief patient experience officer, moderated the discussion, posing questions submitted by council members.

Questions focused on nursing care challenges, transitioning adolescents to adult care, engaging patients in medication management, physician burnout and other topics.

What, for example, would nursing staff members need to fulfill patients’ wishes?

“It’s a challenge,” said Deborah Baker, the health system’s senior vice president for nursing. “Nurses have to keep a lot in focus to provide safe care. Part of their learning is to partner with patients to reach mutual goals. ‘What do you need?’ should be asked by every nurse.” Developing a bigger role for customer care service coordinators to address basic needs, she noted, will allow nurses to spend more time with patients.

Asked another council member: “How do we nurture and develop our physicians throughout their careers to ensure that they take a collaborative approach to treating patients?”

Jonathan Efron, colorectal surgeon and chief of surgery for Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, offered his take: “Patient- and family-centered care is really a philosophy and culture—a team sport. We try to immerse med students in a patient-centered care context: to treat people the way you want to be treated yourself. That means focusing all the attention on patients, not looking at cellphones.”

Other panelists included Allen Chen, pediatric oncologist and the Department of Oncology’s vice chair for quality, safety and service, and pediatrician-in-chief Tina Cheng.

The evening’s most pointed question was directed to Redonda Miller, president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital: “At last year’s event, you indicated that we were ‘halfway there with patient- and family-centered care. Given your year’s experience, where do you think we are now?”

Miller responded, “I don’t think we’ll ever be ‘all the way there.’ That would be to declare that we have all the answers, and that we’re going to stop learning. As a hospital, one of our strengths is our ability to adapt … to take the pulse of the health care industry and of our employees’ experiences and of our individual patients’ needs.”

But there has been significant progress, she said, listing examples such as Patient-Family Cafes, wayfinding volunteers and more (see sidebar).

“With tens of thousands of patients receiving care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital every year,” added Miller, “we need your thoughts and ears. Continue to tell us what you’re experiencing, and what you’re hearing from patients and families. You bring a richness and context that makes these efforts more powerful. Let us know what works—and what doesn’t.”

Learn more about the councils and how patients and their families can participate in improving the patient experience.