Action Kidney Cancer
What is A Life in a Day?
A Life in a Day was created in 2018 out of a belief that the best healthcare is when patients are put at its heart. Understanding what life is like for people with conditions is vital so they can receive care and support tailored to their needs.
A Life in a Day allows pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals to step into a patient’s shoes, providing valuable insight into the daily physical, social and emotional challenges and choices patients face. By recognising patients’ needs, professionals can put these at the centre of clinical, corporate and commercial strategies to achieve greater patient-centric working and more meaningful engagement.
Our experience exploring A Life in a Day of a person with Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) was developed in collaboration with Action Kidney Cancer. It is one of over 20 immersive experiences we have developed so far. You can view our full list of experiences below:
How does it work?
A truly unique, immersive experience, the 24-hour experience is delivered through three elements. A mobile app, a kit of items, and live role plays.
Click here to explore how we combine these elements to deliver a truly immersive experience
Patient-focused impact
A paper published by BMC Nursing explored the impact of the A Life in a Day programme on participants from the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) and UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS).
The study focused on the ways in which the immersive experience increased empathy and changed clinical practice.
Participants reported an increase in empathy for their patients which inspired them to make changes to their practice. This involved being more holistic in their care and taking on more responsibility They recommended use of RRS for HCP training and continued professional development. 1
97%
of all participants strongly agreed that they ‘feel empathy for RCC patients’
90%
strongly agreed that they ‘feel inspired to place patients at the centre of their work’
The paper concludes:
“It is recommended that simulation is used as a method of CPD for registered nurses, pharmacists and other HCPs and should be included in the curricula of undergraduate courses of all HCPs.”
Participant quotes
“I think it made me learn a lot more about renal cancer whereas before there were things, I didn’t have a clue, it made me learn and made me read a bit more around and understand a bit more.”
“The next day I had clinic and I was totally thinking about what I was saying, the language I was using… it really opened my eyes to give me a sense of what patients go through. It made me really choose my words carefully and allow I suppose more time for patients to respond… definitely impacted me in practice.”
Thanks to the team at Action Kidney Cancer for supporting us all on our patient centricity journey!
Nick Lester
Zara Nadim
Barbara Fusco
Alfie White
Josh Hamilton
Chiara Keating
Beverley Bryant
Rebecca Parry
Paul Gascoigne
Kelly Bibb
Katya Emanuel
Bianca Claydon
Mostafa Naseef
Cora Graham
Kate Jackson
Mark Doyle
Mark Duman MRPharmS brings over 30 years of clinician, management consultant and patient perspectives to the healthcare, life sciences and digital health sectors. Working in the NHS, The King’s Fund, the BBC, and as a Founder of the Patient Information Forum, Mark endeavours to make healthcare more person-centric. As the Chief Patient Officer for MD Healthcare, he works with organisations such as AstraZeneca, Diabetes UK, Google Health, Innovate UK, JnJ, Macmillan Cancer Support, Microsoft, Pfizer, Novartis and Siemens Healthineers to harness digital health, develop markets and improve patient engagement.
