Institute for Professionalism
and Ethical Practice

Skilled Communications for Difficult Conversations and Better Care
WORKSHOPS

Learn best practices, improve your skills and gain confidence for having some of the most difficult and stressful health care conversations. Whether disclosing a medical error or a life altering diagnosis you will be prepared to have these conversations with confidence, presence, and compassion.
PERCS ROUNDS

Nursing and interdisciplinary staff meet monthly to discuss strategies for navigating the everyday challenges of their profession.  These support rounds provide a safe place for clinical staff to delve into some of their most challenging ethical, moral, and patient-clinician communication concerns.
CONSULTATION

Our Leadership Team and Faculty Associates are available to provide consultation to healthcare practitioners and educators who want to develop programs within their own institutions.
PUBLICATIONS

The IPEP leadership team and IPEP faculty are involved in a wide range of research projects aimed at documenting the qualitative and quantitative impact of our work.

News & Announcements

The Financial and Human Cost of Medical Error... and how Massachusetts can lead the way on patient safety by The Betsy Lehman Center. Interesting find that of the 19% of Massachusetts residents who said when provider apologized after an error and spoke honestly, patients were less likely to feel angry, depressed, abandoned, and betrayed. Click here to read the full report.

In the News: HealthLeaders interview with Dr. Sigall Bell, IPEP's Director of Patient Safety and Quality Initiatives, provides insight on essential elements of effective communication after medical error. Dr. Bell states, "It is important to remember that communication after harmful events is a process, not an isolated event." Click here to read the full interview.

Video Gallery:  Visit our video gallery with insights from the top thought leaders in the field of ethics, communications, and disclosure in medicine.

The Reality of Disclosure Conversations, by Dr. Robert Truog, Director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School

Take Your Practice to the Next Level

  • Join over 5,000 clinicians worldwide from dozens of medical specialties who have participated in our workshops
  • Learn from our distinguished faculty whose research has been published in renowned journals
  • Experience simulation-based cases re-enacted by trained actors versed in our unique pedagogy
  • Hear first-hand perspectives of our dedicated and compassionate family faculty who have been the recipients of difficult medical information

“I was honestly blown away by the degree of professionalism, seriousness, and relevance of the workshop to me not only as a physician but also as a person. The workshop as a whole made me more aware of the many subtleties that are needed in patient-physician interactions during difficult times and I am not alone in feeling this way.”