Co-constructing patient partnership: highlighting professional competencies and tools to move from knowledge to action

From the perspective of patient partnership articulated in the Montreal Model, the patient is recognized as a partner and a full member of the care team. This approach emphasizes the patient’s active role in care, grounded in experiential knowledge developed through lived experience of illness and the healthcare system. The model is based on the integration of professional expertise and patients’ experiential knowledge—two complementary and indispensable sources of knowledge for high-quality care [1]. This paradigm shift requires specific competencies not only from patients—such as sufficient health literacy and the motivation to engage actively in their care—but also from healthcare professionals. Professionals must mobilize a range of complementary competencies that integrate different forms of knowledge: theoretical knowledge, including biomedical, clinical, and partnership concepts; relational knowledge, such as active listening, respect, empathy, and authenticity; and applied knowledge, including skills in supporting self-management, shared decision-making, and the use of tools that foster patient partnership. When enacted coherently in practice, these competencies enable clinicians to support patients in progressively strengthening their engagement, from basic information-sharing to full partnership [1].