October 30, 2008
HOUSTON – The American Academy on Communication in Healthcare (AACH) recently awarded its 2008 Lynn Payer Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Literature on the Theory, Practice and Teaching of Effective Healthcare Communication and Related Skills to Paul Haidet, M.D. a staff physician at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. The presentation was made at the AACH Research and Teaching Forum on October 18, 2008 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Haidet serves as the editor of Medical Encounter, AACH’s quarterly journal and is the sixth recipient of this prestigious award. “Jazz and the Art of Medicine” is a great example of his unique contribution to the literature and his vision of medicine as a human and humane endeavor. He and a group of colleagues developed the first formal instrument to measure the informal or hidden curriculum of medical schools.
The Relationship-Centered Research Network in Indianapolis focused on developing a collaborative research approach to the theory and practice of relationship-centered care. Comprised of 10 top communication researchers from across the United States, Haidet was a major contributor to community development activities, adding key concepts and a wealth of experience as an educator and practitioner to this initiative.
During his career, Haidet has focused on team-based learning as an educational strategy as well as contributing to the literature on individual provider-patient relationships. Team-based learning incorporates and integrates skills at the individual and collective level, paralleling the way in which care is actually delivered.
AACH (formerly American Academy on Physician and Patient) has dedicated more than 25 years to research, education, and professional standards in patient-doctor communication. Its goal is to change the practice of medicine by helping clinicians and patients, and learners and teachers relate more effectively. AACH had its roots in the Task Force on the Medical Interview, which was formed in 1978; AACH was officially organized in 1993 by the leadership of the task force.
This award is a tribute to Lynn Payer, a journalist and managing editor of Medical Encounter for more a decade. She was the author of the classic book, “Medicine and Culture” and wrote hundreds of news stories and features during her career.
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