KeepingWellNEL workforce health and wellbeing is pleased to announce that in collaboraiton with NELFT and Point of CareFoundation, we are now able to increase access to this reflective space for the health and social care professionals.
Join us to reflect with other collegues on “Theme to be confirmed”.
In 1994 a health attorney called Ken Schwartz was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. During his treatment Ken noted “that medicine is not merely about performing tests or surgeries, or administering drugs… “For as skilled and knowledgeable as my caregivers are, what matters most is that they have empathised with me in a way that gives me hope and makes me feel like a human being, not just an illness” Subsequently, the Schwartz Centre was established to help foster compassion in healthcare.
Schwartz Rounds are a multidisciplinary forum designed for staff to come together once a month to discuss and reflect on the emotional and social challenges associated with working in healthcare. Rounds provide a confidential space to reflect on and share experiences.
What is a Schwartz Round?
Schwartz Rounds provide a structured forum where all staff, clinical and non-clinical, come together regularly to discuss the emotional and social aspects of working in healthcare.
The purpose of Rounds is to understand the challenges and rewards that are intrinsic to providing care, not to solve problems or to focus on the clinical aspects of patient care.
Rounds can help staff feel more supported in their jobs, allowing them the time and space to reflect on their roles. Evidence shows that staff who attend Rounds feel less stressed and isolated, with increased insight and appreciation for each other’s roles. They also help to reduce hierarchies between staff and to focus attention on relational aspects of care.
The underlying premise for Rounds is that the compassion shown by staff can make all the difference to a patient’s experience of care, but that in order to provide compassionate care staff must, in turn, feel supported in their work.
SchwartzRounds are a place where people who don’t usually talk about the heart of the work are willing to share their vulnerability, to question themselves. The program provides an opportunity for dialogue that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the organisation.
The Benefits
Rounds provide NELFT with the support staff need in order to create a strong, open culture where high quality and compassionate care can flourish.
Stories shared in Schwartz Rounds have the ability to empower staff and our organisations. Staff can reconnect with their values and reaffirm their motivation to work in healthcare.
Schwartz Rounds provide the only forum for staff at all levels across an organisation to come together. Over time, providing this reflective space will impact on our organisation more broadly. For example, staff often disclose experiences of fallibility and mistakes, which if carried into everyday practice can foster an open and transparent culture.
Schwartz Rounds have been accredited by CPD-UK, who give third party assurance that the Rounds meet CPD standards. It is up to individual staff members to identify the learning benefit, number of points and type of CPD activity, e.g. reflective practice
The Staff Health and Wellbeing Team are reaching out to all leaders, managers and senior colleagues to attend, which helps us demonstrate organisational commitment.
Use the below form to sign up
