Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

’s inaugural community panel, 𝐀𝐫𝐭 & 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭, brought together a full (sold-out!) room to reflect on something is feeling right now: a profound desire for conversations 💬 rooted in empathy, compassion, and shared understanding.

Throughout the evening, we heard from three remarkable speakers — Dr. Megan Lorraine (), James P. Rudolph (), and Dr. Darren Kew () — whose work spans history, , and . From the role of preserving memory and meaning to the legal and ethical dimensions of conflict to the work of fostering dialogue and connection across difference, each of their perspectives offered something distinct and, together, something deeply resonant. Their collective work underscores how empathy and compassion can shape our understanding of the past, move us through conflict, and, perhaps most importantly, build more humane futures. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our panelists for sharing their insights and lived experiences with openness and care. 💙 💛

We also extend deep gratitude to our event partner, Megan Pogue and her team at the in , for hosting and helping bring this event to life in such a beautiful way; to live portrait artist .art for capturing our event so beautifully; to our team at for the important behind-the-scenes work of coordinating this effort; and, to everyone who attended, your presence and engagement in the important topic of Art & Empathy in Times of Conflict made this event what it was.

This is only the beginning... Stay tuned for updates on our next event! 📣

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡: 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 & 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 📣

Join the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion on Tuesday, March 10, from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. (PST) for a special webinar aimed at promoting sustainable, values-driven medical practice in today's ever-complex and evolving healthcare environment.

Led by Chris Onderdonk, MSW, LCSW, AHPSW-C of Fordham University, attendees will learn a concrete, five-step moral distress debriefing tool that helps shift the burden of moral distress from individuals to systems, fosters shared responsibility, and reduces provider isolation.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:
📅 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
⏱️ 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. (PST)
📍 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Zoom
🔗 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: CCCspringworkshops.eventbrite.com

𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝! 📢

Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion-funded researchers – Rachna Subramony, Sophia Aguirre, Grace Furnari, Sandeep Segar, and Frances Rudolf – were recently published in the Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development for their research on developing a novel curriculum that assesses compassionate communication during challenging high acuity medical simulations for medical students.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
💡 Fourth year medical students’ perceived compassion is greater when not placed in high acuity situations where they must multitask between medical care and compassionate communication.

💡 When faced with more complex scenarios, students felt that their true skills in compassionate communication were inferior to their initial perceptions.

💡 The results of this study show an opportunity for a new way of teaching compassionate communication curriculum in medical education. The authors propose introducing these high fidelity simulations earlier in medical student education, ideally during third-year at the start of clinical clerkships and to expand this curriculum into a 2-year longitudinal course.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 ⬇️

An Innovative Approach to Assess Medical Student Perceived Compassionate Communication Skills Before and After High Acuity Simulation Cases - Rachna Subramony, Sophia Aguirre, Grace Furnari, Sandeep Segar, Frances Rudolf, 2026 Objective It can be difficult to translate learned compassionate communication skills in a patient encounter while also managing a high acuity patient. We creat...

Killer High: The future of addiction medicine

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫

On January 22, 2026, join us for an engaging webinar with our partners at the Compassion Institute to explore the science and practice of compassion cultivation.

What you’ll learn at Compassion Cultivation Practices:
🧠 The science of compassion
✨ Guided practices for cultivating self-compassion and compassion for others
🏥 How to embed compassion into daily work and teaching

This complimentary webinar is designed for clinicians, health educators, and other professionals seeking to infuse compassion into their daily routine.

Secure your spot now ➡️ https://uchealth.zoom.us/meeting/register/iMIHtNyjS8WtyCJRiuXSGg

What we're reading: Harper's Magazine "Bedside Manners" essay by Rachel Pearson⤵️

Bedside Manners, by Rachel Pearson Can empathy be taught in medicine?

The Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion's Founding Director William Mobley, Center for Compassionate Communication Director Evonne Kaplan-Liss MD MPH, and Center for Research on Empathy and Compassion Associate Director Hoda Soltani are currently in Leicester, England for the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare's Global Empathy in Healthcare Network Symposium.

This Symposium convenes healthcare thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators from across the globe to examine how we can rethink care in an era of technological advancements, rising costs, and societal complexities. The goal: restore and amplify empathy and human connection in care. ❤️

We are proud to be here — learning, presenting, and connecting — and encourage you to learn more about this event and network ➡️ https://www.global-empathy-in-healthcare.com

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Ami Doshi, Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion Wellness Leader Academy Director, on being named a 2025 Health Sciences Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Honoree! This recognition is a testament to Dr. Doshi's extraordinary commitment to guiding and uplifting others with empathy and compassion.

Mentoring Excellence Honorees are presented to just 3 individual faculty members at UC San Diego who have demonstrated significant commitment to effective mentorship of junior faculty, residents, fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and/or students in academic medicine and health sciences.

Center for Compassionate Communication Director, Evonne Kaplan-Liss, MD, MPH, was featured in HealthLeaders this month for her work on the UC San Diego Health: Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship.

In the article, she shares "We use journalism skills, improvisation skills, visual arts, and narrative medicine exercises to help clinicians connect with patients and communicate with compassion. As a patient myself with chronic conditions, I have seen firsthand how ineffective communication impacted my health. I have been on the receiving end of bad communication."

Read the full article ➡️ https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/cmo/are-your-clinicians-and-nurses-communicating-compassionately-patients