Hospitality in a Dutch Cancer Clinic

Societal changes force hospitals to improve their patient journeys. And although hospitals and hotels do differ on quite some aspects, there are also a lot of similarities. Moreover, hotels are known for doing their utmost to please their guests and to focus on their guest experiences. Therefore, hospitals are looking at what they can learn form the hotel industry.
The Antoniushove is anxious to retain its high quality and where possible to improve it. That is why, together with the Hotelschool, they want to investigate where the patient journey can be improved.
Medical students are ‘critical thinkers’ as they are educated in an academic and evidence based environment. Hotelschool students are generally seen as having excellent ‘soft skills’ like creativity and problem solving skills. Critical thinking and soft skills are both seen as important 21st century skills.
This research is a first exploration of where there are possibilities for improvement on patient journeys. Couples existing of one medical student and one hotelschool student will form a team and follow breast and colorectal patients during their hospital visit. This combination of students has never occurred before in such a research. It will allow students from both backgrounds to look at the patient journey though the eyes of the other and to learn form each other’s competences.
Main research methods to be applied will be shadowing, guided tours and interviews, all of course with informed consent. Medical staff from the Antoniushove and research experts form the hotelschool will supervise the research.
This research is a preliminary research for a bigger research and should result in grant proposal for the follow-up research.