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Shared decision-making is a process in which the patient and the healthcare provider determine which care or treatment is best suited. The conversation not only discusses medical options, but also the patient’s personal goals, wishes and needs. In this way, together they arrive at a treatment choice that best suits the patient.
Regietheater: from consultation room to nursing department
During the director’s theater – accompanied by two actors – visible in a light and recognizable way what shared decision-making ideally looks like, both in the consultation room and in the nursing department. Everyone actively participated, which sometimes led to this to emotional conversations. This gave a good idea of what our patients need from their healthcare provider to discuss what is important to them.
Valuable insights
The participants, patients of our hospital and their loved ones, appreciated the director’s theater very positively. For example, they indicated that they liked that we asked in this way what they considered important and that we showed that St. Antonius is a hospital that learns and improves.
“Many valuable insights were gained for us as a hospital. These included non-verbal communication, the way in which the patient was spoken to and the discussion of diagnoses and treatment options,” says Mirjam Garvelink, Senior researcher & Shared Decision-Making Advisor and one of the organizers of the director’s theater. “It is a clear message from the patients: make real contact and do not make assumptions, but occasionally ask whether the patient understands and what is important to him or her.”
Although the scenes were about oncological care, the experiences apply more broadly. Patients advised to also organize this theater for people with chronic conditions. This is expected to take place in 2026.
Mirjam: “We will use these insights to strengthen shared decision-making. We will offer more training moments to our healthcare colleagues and bring Decide together more often drawn to the attention of patients and healthcare providers. We also want to create more opportunities for patients to contribute ideas. This way we can make even better decisions together about appropriate care in the future.”
The Deciding Together theater is part of the Healthcare Transformation programme.
Want to know more? Also view the message Patients want to make decisions together.
