Reflection from first national soft skills in healthcare conference

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OPINION

By Eric Ssennuni

Despite their undeniable significance in delivering high-quality patient-centred care, soft skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and empathy are often overshadowed by technical competencies and underemphasized in many health professional training curricula.

Moreover, soft skills are considered a secondary competence for many healthcare professionals. However, the growing complexity of healthcare systems and the recognition that patient experiences and outcomes are deeply influenced by provider behaviour have made it clear that mastering soft skills is just as essential as mastering technical competencies.

To highlight the critical role of soft skills in healthcare delivery and to lay strategic plans for their deliberate development and integration into training and practice, from April 23-24, 2025, more than one hundred healthcare providers, professional students, and educators, from various corners of the country, convened at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel, Kampala, Uganda, during the First National Soft Skills in Healthcare Conference, organised by Little Winnie Foundation (LWF).

The conference was themed “Adopting Soft Skills to Enhance Health Professional Growth and Patient-Centred Care.” And one of the most enjoyable and educational activities was the two simulation demonstrations focusing on effective communication strategies, teamwork, and collaboration skills for the first and second sessions.

During the first session, participants were drawn into a simulated clinical scenario that challenged them to think beyond routine consultation techniques.

The simulation emphasised how empathy and human connection can dramatically influence patient trust, openness, and clinical outcomes through active listening, careful non-verbal communication, and patient-centred dialogue.

Healthcare workers practised how small actions- a pause, a nod, or an open-ended question- can create space for patients to share vital, often hidden concerns. Meanwhile, the second session immersed participants in the high-pressure environment of a deteriorating first postoperative day patient. This demanded rapid, coordinated action where no professional could succeed alone. Participants practiced clear communication, role delegation, mutual respect, and situational leadership to stabilise the deteriorating patient. This exercise revealed that even the best medical interventions fail without effective teamwork.

The two demonstrations highlighted that deliberate practice is essential not just for technical skills but also for soft skills.

Simulation creates a safe, controlled environment where learners can practice repeatedly, learn from their mistakes, receive real-time feedback, and refine their behaviours without harming patients.

Specifically, the above simulation sessions stressed that soft skills like empathy under pressure, active listening in stressful consultations, and decisive leadership in emergencies must be intentionally developed and consistently maintained.

Participants asserted that if healthcare aspires to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care, communication, teamwork, empathy, and leadership must be taught, practised, evaluated, and celebrated with the same rigour as technical competencies. Although advances in technology and clinical science are essential, the human connection, built through practised soft skills, will define excellent, compassionate healthcare in the coming years.

Therefore, the First National Soft Skills in Healthcare Conference concluded with a strong call for integrating soft skills training, including simulation, into healthcare education and continuing professional development programs.

Quote: "Soft skills are not simply nice to have. They are critical clinical skills. And like any clinical competencies, they require deliberate, focused, and repeated practice to perfect and maintain." Dr. Eric Ssennuni.

The writer is a medical doctor, simulation instructor, and researcher. He was the Co-chair of the organising committee of the Conference