The hotel school and hospitals are investigating hospitality

The Leiden-The Hague University Cancer Center (UKC) and Hotelschool The Hague Conclude a Unique Collaboration: Medical Students and Hotel Students Will Conduct HMC Hospitality Research Together at HMC Antoniushove [19659002] The UKC (HMC collaboration) and LUMC) and Hotelschool The Hague has received a NWO grant from Creative Industry – Knowledge Innovation Mapping (KIEM) & # 39 ;. This is for research on hospitality at the hospital and how it can be used in a hospital. Among other things, the hospitality of doctors, nurses and other hospital staff is studied. The idea emanates from oncological surgeon Onno Guicherit: "Hospitality is not limited to good food and thick carpet. In terms of hospitality, hospitality is much more related to person-to-person contact. How can you use hospitality to place the patient as central as possible? "

Great Effect

And that's in the little things, according to a pilot before the study, in which two students from the school were observing the medical staff. (Lector) Hospitality Professor , Happiness & Care Angélique Lombarts, Hotelchool research project manager The Hague: "They have seen, for example, that doctors treat patients differently when they have to make a new appointment." A person says goodbye to the doctor and let the patient walk to the office to make a new appointment.The other person accompanies the patient to the office, informs the doctor's assistant of what needs to be done and then tells him at the This is a small difference, but with a great effect in terms of experience for the patient.In addition, it works more efficiently for the transfer of information between a doctor and a doctor's assistant. . "

Sharing Experiences

In This State ude, the couples are from students in hotel school and medical students. Together, they will study the treatment of cancer patients for half a year starting in September. Patients will also share their experiences. Based on the findings, interventions are designed to increase hospitality in the hospital. Lombarts: "The combination of a hotel school student and a medical student is great because they can learn from each other: promising doctors can focus on improving Patient and students are more focused on the experience. the hotel school makes suggestions to a hospital to improve hospitality. "But it's the first time in the Netherlands that hotel school students and medical students are working together in such a study," says Lombarts.

It is also exceptional that HBO and university teaching work together in this research. Guicherit: "In the first place, research will be done in the departments of breast cancer and colon cancer. Perhaps the other oncology departments of HMCS Antoniushove will also be studied. According to the surgeon, obtaining the grant is clearly recognized for research. "They also seem to see the added value of this research, in which two areas come together."