Table 3 Recommendations for the development of a compassion training program

• Senior leadership training module is a part of the training program

• The program honours and aims to enhance healthcare providers’ innate compassion in order to avoid misconceptions that training is intended to address deficiencies on the part of learners

• A learners’ needs assessment is conducted prior to training

• Program content maps to the dimensions of compassion

• Program incorporates a mix of experiential, online and in-person teaching

• Facilitators embody compassion including a co-facilitator grounded in clinical practice and the organizational culture

• There is a commitment to sustaining compassion and providing learners with educational resources after the program

• The program is evaluated with valid and reliable measures, including a compassion measure