UCalgary researcher named new Cross Canada Chair in Compassionate Care

A Canadian health-care leader at the University of Calgary is reshaping patient care by combining innovation with compassion.  

Dr. Shane Sinclair, PhD’09, has been named the Cross Canada Chair in Compassionate Care, a new five-year appointment that builds on his role as UCalgary's Research Excellence Chair in Compassion in the Faculty of Nursing. 

The position, which officially begins on Dec. 1, is supported by funding partner St. Joseph’s Health System and is designed to establish a unified, system-wide approach to delivering compassionate health care in Canada. 

Leading and innovating compassionate care  

The Chair will operate using a “hub and spoke” model. As the central hub, Sinclair will provide scientific leadership, access to key resources such as the Sinclair Compassion Questionnaire — a validated tool that measures patients’ experiences of compassion in health care — and EnACT, an evidence-informed, accredited training program designed to enhance compassion competencies in health-care professionals. 

St. Joseph’s Health System, St. Joseph’s Care Group and Covenant will act as the spokes, engaging local researchers, educators, leaders and staff to implement the Chair’s initiatives in ways that reflect local contexts and needs.  

“This newly established role will drive innovation across Canada’s compassionate health-care landscape, overall enriching patient care,” says Dr. William Ghali, UCalgary’s vice-president (research). 

As Chair, Sinclair will also serve as an expert advisor to affiliated researchers and trainees while providing evidence-based insights to health-care leaders, policymakers and stakeholders.  

“We are committed to advancing research that has a positive real-world impact, and Dr. Sinclair’s work unequivocally shows, when health-care providers are compassionate, patients have better outcomes," says Dr. Catherine Laing, dean of the Faculty of Nursing.

Sinclair will oversee the implementation, evaluation and reporting of the questionnaire across care units, and will lead the delivery and integration of EnACT training. 

“Health-care systems are increasingly complex, shaped by diverse professions, patients, pressures and priorities," says Sinclair. "When compassion is integrated at a system level, it transforms patient care, enhances workplace well-being, revitalizes organizations and strengthens outcomes across every level.

“I’d like to thank St. Joseph’s Health System, St Joseph’s Care Group, Covenant and the Faculty of Nursing at UCalgary for their leadership and commitment to keeping compassion at the heart of health care."  

Sinclair is a certified spiritual health practitioner (chaplain) and director of the Compassion Research Lab, a nationally funded and internationally recognized transdisciplinary research group. 

Sinclair holds multiple academic appointments at UCalgary, including: 

• Professor, Faculty of Nursing
• Adjunct professor, Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine
• Full member, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute
• Researcher, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (Child Health & Wellness Program) 

Partnership building for the future 

Ontario-based St. Joseph’s Health System is a national leader in integrated, evidence-based care. Its work focuses on areas such as mental health, addictions and respiratory care, with a strong emphasis on research translation and improving patient outcomes. 

Its partnership with UCalgary aims to build a sustainable health-care model rooted in compassion and driven by innovation. 

“The collaboration with UCalgary focuses on creating a compassionate and forward-thinking approach to sustainable health care,” says Ghali.