H.E.A.R.T.

Recognizing that, at times, a disconnect occurs between what we aspire to do for our patients as providers and what ends up transpiring in each patient contact, the HEART group was created and charged with a mission to close the gap. The name, HEART, is an acronym for the themes that ground our work--themes that we work to integrate into all aspects of the University of Louisville medical community: Humanistic, Empathetic, Altruistic, Relationship-centered Team. Through the various HEART projects and enterprises, we hope to foster a medical community culture that embraces the humanistic component of the physician-patient interaction. Furthermore, we hope to provide those of us still in training with the tools we need to consistently practice medicine with empathy and altruism. We acknowledge that the current medical atmosphere encourages physicians and providers to focus on achieving scientific accuracy. HEART’s goal is to promote the themes for which it is named, to make them more visible in the medical community so that healthcare professionals and patients alike are aware of the university’s commitment to humanism in medicine.