Pantea Vahidi

Pantea Vahidi, RN is the founder of Compassion Clinic, and is dedicated to advancing the practice of compassion and moving it from aspiration to action. She develops and promotes methods to enhance the well-being of patients and healthcare providers by fostering empathy and compassion.

To bridge the gap in compassion education, Vahidi developed The Vahidi Compassion Model™, a pioneering framework that reverse-engineers compassionate behaviors into teachable skills. This model empowers healthcare professionals with practical tools to strengthen their existing skillset and express compassion effectively, even in high-stress environments. Recognized by nurse scholars as an emerging nursing theory, Vahidi has used the model to train aspiring and practicing healthcare providers and leaders across the U.S. and globally.

To mitigate the pervasive burnout among healthcare professionals, Vahidi leads Compassion Circle™, a facilitated peer support group where participants share challenges, exchange resources, and replenish their mental and emotional reserves by being seen and heard.

A sought-after keynote speaker, Vahidi has inspired audiences at universities, health systems, leadership retreats, professional development programs, and international conferences, including NGPX, the Planetree Global Person-Centered Care Forum, and The Beryl Institute.

Vahidi serves on the advisory boards of the Clinician Burnout Foundation and A Loving Organization Consortium. She also contributes to committees such as the PersonCentered Care Forum and the Healthcare Reinvention Collaborative and serves as a faculty member at Practicing Excellence.

Her work has been featured by The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), Thrive Global, and various podcasts, including “Making Healthcare Work for You.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, her contributions to supporting nurses’ well-being gained recognition from multiple news outlets, including Union Tribune and KUSI.

Vahidi has a blended background that shapes her unique expertise. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from National University, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). She has received postgraduate training and certification in Trauma-Informed Care and has collaborated with the Sanford Institute of Empathy and Compassion at UCSD to contribute to the scientific research and medical education of compassion.

Her published scoping review, ‘Measures of Empathy and Compassion: A Scoping Review,’ is available as an open-source article. Most recently, she has partnered with Mayo Clinic and other healthcare organizations on a Patient-Provider Relationships and Outcomes research study exploring what truly matters in cultivating well-being-centered relationships.

Vahidi believes that compassion is the most powerful force for healing humanity. She is missioned to embed this essential principle into policies, practices, and systemic transformations— creating a more compassionate world for all.