An organisational guide: Understanding, implementing and sustaining Schwartz Rounds®(2018)

Summary

Providing high quality healthcare has an emotional impact on staff. Often they experience high levels of psychological distress, face increasing levels of scrutiny, regulation and demand, and have increasingly limited resources.

Schwartz Center Rounds® (Rounds) were developed to support healthcare staff deliver compassionate care by providing a safe space where staff could openly share and reflect on the emotional, social and ethical challenges of their work. Rounds are a monthly staff forum (not attended by patients) where three to four employees (panellists) present short accounts of their experiences of delivering patient care.

This organisational guide is based upon the findings from an evaluation of Rounds in the UK, undertaken between 2014 and 2016. The evaluation was commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research and led by Professor Jill Maben at King’s College London (now at the University of Surrey). The evaluation aimed to distil the findings and learning for practical application by organisations seeking to implement and/or sustain Rounds in their organisations.