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This paper discusses the nature of humanism in healthcare management and leadership. Humanism in healthcare management should entail serving 1) patients and their families, 2) organizational members, and 3) the community. The article describes how humanism is largely absent from healthcare organizations as a critical and important value. In the twentieth century, a number of models of healthcare leadership were developed that were humanistic in focus. These models primarily stressed the value of attention by leaders on the needs and values of people working in the organization. However, humanistic, healthcare leadership involves not only motivating and empowering employees, but a primary, essential focus is for leaders to create environments that support and uplift patients and their families. Humanistic care in healthcare organizations can be facilitated by leaders establishing positive, supportive, and empowering environments for clinicians and other employees. Secondly, managers can establish programs to develop and train employees to provide humanistic care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caring and humanism in hospitals exist on both the organizational and the individual levels. This paper identifies key organizations and foundations that have succeeded in promoting or fostering caring environments in hospitals. These include the Picker Institute, the Baptist Healing Trust, Sage Consulting, and the Caritas Consortium. Exemplary, caring clinicians in hospitals are also described. These clinicians developed positive relationships with patients and in interviews communicated a number of approaches to express caring to patients. Health and human services managers can take a number of steps to promote caring among their clinicians. However, they must implement a culture and a reward system that encourages humanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including empathy in care of patients, approaches for the enhancement of empathy in health and human services cultures and the health care leader as humanist.