Patient-centred care is a value espoused by most healthcare systems and a concept taught in nursing
education programs as a fundamental concept of patient care. In this study, we focused on the patient’s
experience of patient-centredness, interviewing eighteen patients and eight family members about their
experiences as patients on an in-patient acute care medical unit in a large hospital in Canada.
Approximately half of the patients expressed satisfaction with their experiences and their involvement
in decisions about their healthcare. The remainder expressed concerns about their care that jeopardized
their experiences of patient-centredness. These areas concerned issues of communication with and
among healthcare professionals, relationships with these care providers, trust and respect in the professional
relationships, and general satisfaction with care. Participants provided advice to professional
students about ways to interact more effectively with their patients to establish caring, empathetic,
patient-centred relationships as the basis for care. We address patient recommendations to support
learner understanding of the patient experience both in classrooms and clinical experiences throughout
educational programs as a means to enhance their patient-centredness