First 5 Minutes^®

Minimal practice changes, major patient impact

Getting to know your patients in the short window of time you have is challenging. Now, we have a way to help establish that connection faster and more meaningfully.

Save time and see better outcomes

Experience and patient feedback tell us patients are more willing to follow medical instructions when they feel understood. They also have better long-term health outcomes.

The First 5 Minutes program consists of evidence-based skills to establish trust with your patients in the first 5 minutes of your interactions. With improved communication, you’ll see that it takes less effort to help your patients more. See the difference it can make in your practice.

New! Build your skills with free self-paced learning modules

BUILDING PATIENT TRUST FUNDAMENTALS

These e-learning modules share strategies for quickly creating rapport, responding with empathy, and building your relationship. Expert faculty analyze videos of patient-clinician interactions and highlight where the clinician excelled and where there were missed opportunities.

BUILDING PATIENT TRUST SKILLS PRACTICE

In these virtual reality modules, you’ll apply your empathetic listening and communication skills by conversing with a simulated patient. No VR headset? No worries. The modules can be accessed through your computer or on an Oculus headset.

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SKILLS CARD

Our experts have developed evidence-based strategies for establishing trust with your patients, and that guidance is now available in a pocket-sized, downloadable skills card. Find quick-reference tips for how to quickly create rapport, respond with empathy, and begin building your relationship.

DOWNLOAD SKILLS CARD

How we got here

Listening to patients

What we’ve heard from patients is clear: Many experience a lack of health care access, equity, and trust, particularly in under-resourced communities. CHEST set out to address these barriers and improve the patient experience through empathetic listening training.

Putting words into action

In June 2022, eighteen clinicians joined an in-person pilot training program at the University of Texas Health Science Center. Relationship-centered communication trainers from the Academy of Communication in Healthcare led interactive activities on empathetic listening and trust-building communication skills.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE »

”I don’t know if I was ever asked, ‘Hey, can you afford this health care? Can you afford this visit?’ It has been assumed, many times to our hurt, because we have had to make decisions based on our financial limitations. [There were] medications that I couldn’t take because I couldn’t afford them.”

—Orlando Rivera, patient and Listening Tour participant

”[There is a] need to touch on issues that matter to the patients, not issues that matter for the diagnosis alone. You're trying to view the patient as a total human being and not just a specific disease.”

—Ayodeji Adegunsoye, MD, FCCP

”Every day, there is just a number of things that I need help with, and there is no one here to help me. And so, I will sit and wait.”

—Rita Castro, patient and Listening Tour participant

Get more information

Receive tools and resources, get program updates, or tell us if you want to bring First 5 Minutes to your institution.

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First 5 Minutes Executive Steering Committee

Victor Test, MD, FCCP

Professor, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine

John Keith Mansel, MD, FCCP

Physician, The University of Mississippi Medical Center

Susan Corbridge, PhD, APRN, FCCP

Clinical Professor Emerita, University of Illinois Chicago

CHEST gratefully acknowledges the following founding supporters of the First 5 Minutes^®: Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bexar County, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi, and VIATRIS.

Interested in becoming a First 5 Minutes partner to transform patient care? Contact us to learn about sponsorship, grant, or contribution opportunities.

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First 5 Minutes®