Schwartz center rounds: Fostering compassion, communication, and teamwork

doi:10.4066/2591-7366-C1-003

Schwartz center rounds: Fostering compassion, communication, and teamwork

Joint Event on International Conference on Palliative Care, Obstetrics and Gynecology & International Conference on Stroke and Clinical Trials
February 28-March 01, 2019 | Paris, France

Richard Penson

Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts : Res Rep Gynaecol Obstet

DOI: 10.4066/2591-7366-C1-003

Abstract:

Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), founded the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center®, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care. The Center sponsors Schwartz Rounds®, a multidisciplinary forum where doctors, nurses, chaplains, social workers, and other staff reflect on important psychosocial issues that arise in caring for patients. Attendees participate in an interactive discussion about issues anchored in a case presentation and share their experiences, thoughts and feelings. The patient narratives may center on wonderful events and transcendent experiences, or awful stories, where staff can only bear witness to the suffering. The Rounds focus on caregivers’ experiences, and encourage staff to share insights, own their vulnerabilities, and support each other. The primary objective is to foster healing relationships and provide support to professional caregivers, enhance communication among caregivers, and improve the connection between patients and caregivers. Currently, more than 50,000 clinicians attend monthly Schwartz Rounds at 182 sites in 30 states, numbers that are rapidly growing. We will review the reasons that contribute to the success of this model of multidisciplinary reflection.

Biography:

E-mail:

rpenson@partners.org

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