Many times, individuals who have triumphed over frightening, or even near-death, situations will say that the experience has given them a new and more positive outlook on life. Allison Massari, a two-time survivor of such scenarios, has an additional and unique insight—and it’s on the patient experience. She celebrates how healthcare professionals have an “exceptional power to transform lives,” and will share her perspective on how compassionate care can be incorporated into clinical research in a Signature Series keynote session tailored for attendees of ACRP 2025 in New Orleans, La., in April.
As an artist, resilience expert, executive coach, entrepreneur, and storyteller, Massari builds on her experiences from two traumatic accidents—one in 1998, when she was trapped in a car and sustained second- and third-degree burns on more than 50% of her body. She inspires others through hope, relentless perseverance, radical compassion, and teaching simple acts of kindness that take seconds.
As she was fighting her way back to health from her accidents, Massari notes, “I didn’t want to just heal. I wanted to feel peaceful. I became relentless in my pursuit to find the answers to life.” Her goals as a speaker are to teach genuine tools to develop a mindset of self-leadership, resilience, and joyful appreciation of others—unleashing an inner strength and professional enthusiasm to elevate work culture, alleviate burnout, strengthen employee retention, and transform lives.
In preparation for her appearance at ACRP 2025, Massari generously took time to answer a few questions about how her presentation will tie into the everyday work of clinical research professionals.
Q: Recognizing the differences between regular clinical care and clinical trials, how do you feel your message of compassionate care can best be applied by clinical trial team members to those patients who are volunteering their participation in such research efforts?
A: I have worked with people from an incredibly wide and varied range of fields within healthcare, including physicians, nurses, leadership teams, information technology professionals, laboratory specialists, pharmacists, and more. One of the most impactful and important messages that I share in my Healthcare Keynote is the vital role that each person working in healthcare contributes to the patient’s overall outcome—including those without direct patient contact.
My presentation supports healthcare professionals so they feel valued for their work, with the understanding that each step is an integral part of compassionate care. I share how being an expert in their job is compassionate care; how being up to date with the most effective delivery of treatments is compassionate care, etc. By drawing clear connections between their daily work and the well-being of patients, my keynote deepens their sense of purpose and strengthens their connection to the patient experience.
For team members working with patients in a clinical trial, their work has untold benefits for the future—as well as for the patients they are working with. So much advancement in medicine would not happen without their commitment, dedication, and willingness to participate and be on the frontier of new treatments. By shining light on the humanitarian nature and the immense importance of this clinical work, the inherent quality of compassion is underscored.
Additionally, the people who are volunteering in a clinical trial are offering a huge act of service for humankind. For team members who are supporting those volunteers, their care, their presence, their tenderness, their respect, and their compassion are beautiful and very much needed. I always say, “Compassion heals the places medicine cannot touch.”
Q: Based on your own health crises and what you’ve learned as an advocate since then, is there any special emphasis in how you approach healthcare professionals with your message versus other types of professionals?
A: Absolutely. I know that each day, healthcare professionals have the exceptional power to transform lives.
My life has been immersed in the field of medicine. I was raised by an oncology surgeon and nurse, and I worked in medical offices and hospital settings from a young age. Following both of my accidents, I experienced firsthand the critical value of receiving personalized healthcare from committed leadership teams and empathetic providers. With this unique background, I deeply understand and can address the distinct challenges of both patients and providers.
I recognize the complex issues faced by healthcare professionals, including burnout, understaffing, time restraints, employee retention, and everyday stresses. In my keynote, I remind audiences of the immense value of their work to the healthcare system—and to humanity as a whole. They learn that their devotion, skill, and mastery help to heal and bring goodness to an imperfect world. Whether it’s the kindness they bring to their coworkers and their patients, or the brilliance and precision of their work, the impact they are having on patients and their loved ones is immense and life-altering.
I love celebrating the work of healthcare professionals.
Q: Given current conditions for various reasons of heavy turnover and workforce shortages in many healthcare professions, clinical research among them, what do you think would make a tangible difference in elevating the work culture now facing us, especially in terms of doing good for both employees and the patients they serve?
A: I am a huge proponent of learning the art of expressing your appreciation for others. It sounds simple, but it can truly have a profound impact on your own mindset, and on the lives of the people around you.
It’s exciting to catch someone doing something wonderful and to express to them our own joy about witnessing it. It’s a pleasure! And it creates immediate friendship—that feeling of them being seen.
It’s also making an active decision to take charge of how we want to show up, and how we want to feel. This is a way to take charge of our culture and radically transform our experience of our professional environment and our life. Simply expressing your care and appreciation for someone at work is YOU taking charge of your work culture. It’s like saying, “I see you…. I want the best for you… I’m on your side.”
Compassionate Care – You are the Medicine
Join Allison at ACRP 2025 [April 24-27; New Orleans, La.], as she shares actionable insights and ways to incorporate compassionate care into your clinical research practice. View complete schedule.
We can each defiantly choose to bring goodness into the world, no matter what is happening. We can all bring more of the human element to our work and take care of each other. We can make it feel good being at work. And we can even make it fun!
Plus, when we choose to care for others, it lights us up! When we bring our love, care, and kindness to others we feel better. We feel radiant. And having this mindset changes everything.
Edited by Gary Cramer and Allison Massari and her Team
