On Thursday 27th March 2025, 23 healthcare professionals gathered at Haydock Park Racecourse for a one-day course exploring the role of compassion, resilience, and values-led leadership in healthcare.

Led by experienced GP educators Dr Rebecca Baron and Dr Rachel Edwards, the session created space to step back from the day-to-day, reconnect with core motivations, and learn practical strategies to sustain wellbeing both personally and within teams.

Participants travelled from across the North West—from Kendal to Macclesfield—to join a day designed to balance insight, reflection, and peer support.

What They Learned

• The evidence behind resilience and how to build it in real clinical environments
• The difference between empathy and compassion, and how compassion protects from burnout
• Practical tools from frameworks such as Compassionomics and the PERMA model
• How to apply self-compassion and compassionate leadership in daily work
• Strategies for planning realistic, sustainable changes in practice

The course blended research-informed content with structured group reflection, providing a mix of theory, lived experience, and peer insight.

Benefits for Participants

• Left with a renewed sense of purpose and perspective
• Learned how to lead and support others with compassion and clarity
• Gained realistic strategies to bring back to practice and teams
• Felt more connected and reassured after hearing others’ honest reflections
• Built a sense of community and shared experience

Participant Testimonials

“I now understand how compassion reduces burnout—and I want to take this back to my team.”
“It was a relief to be with people who ‘get it’.”
“The balance of theory and reflection was just right. Real, relevant, and useful.”
“This was a different kind of training. It gave us time to think, not just take notes.”
“Very grateful for the walk after lunch—simple but powerful.”

All 23 participants said they would recommend the course to others.

What’s Next

We’re running the same session again for those who couldn’t attend in March.

Location: The Edge, Riveredge, Wigan, WN3 5AB
Date: Wednesday 2nd July 2025, 9.30am–4.00pm
Cost: £150 (or £125 if referred by a previous or current participant)
Includes: Lunch and refreshments

Booking link: https://forms.gle/Y11NrhLT9ycUd1qMA

For more information, contact: [email protected]