Texas Health hospital employees and physicians on the medical staffs will soon have a new resource to help them cope with the stresses faced while working with patients and their families. Beginning this month, Schwartz Rounds® – an educational group discussion on the social and emotional issues caregivers face – will be available systemwide.
“Schwartz Rounds are an opportunity for staff members – not just caregivers, but everyone on the care team – to talk about their experiences in a nonjudgmental environment,” said Timothy Harris, M.D., chief medical officer at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton. “We often talk about cases from the clinical side, but this allows us to talk about the human side of those cases.”
The rounds are currently offered at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and Texas Health Denton. Starting with this month’s Schwartz Rounds hosted by Texas Health Dallas, “My Why” on July 29, hospital employees throughout the system will be able to participate. The panel discussion will be available live for local viewing, and entities will hold facilitated discussions for local employees and physicians on the medical staffs.
John Harper, M.D., a Texas Health Physicians Group (THPG) cardiologist on the medical staff at Texas Health Dallas, has long been a champion of Schwartz Rounds and was instrumental in bringing the concept to Texas Health Dallas five years ago.
“I’ve had a longtime interest in humanities in medicine,” Harper said. “Several years ago, several of us went to Cook Children’s hospital in Fort Worth to visit their Schwartz Rounds. They had been doing them for several years, and we were really impressed. They had an extremely large crowd in an auditorium.
“We were completely blown away by how meaningful it was, so we wanted to bring it here to Texas Health Dallas.”
Each meeting begins with a panel discussion centered around a case or topic, Harper said.
“They don’t address the clinical aspects at all,” he said. “They talk about how it impacted them, the emotions of it. It might have been a case of abuse, and it was very sad and made them wonder why they do what they do. Or sometimes it’s how joyous medicine makes them, and how glad they are that they’re able to provide the care they do.
“We’ve found that in that kind of confidential setting, with a group of their peers, people really open up.”
Frequent participants agree.
David Mussetter, B.A., RRT, director of respiratory therapy at Texas Health Dallas, has attended at least half a dozen meetings.
“Schwartz Rounds are an important tool in keeping us focused on what matters,” he said. “It is so easy to fall back into seeing the patient as Room 101 or that man who had heart surgery. Schwartz Rounds help us remember that every patient has a story, a life, a family.”
He found a session on how caregivers coped with Ebola and another that included a former COVID-19 patient and his family especially helpful.
“He talked about how much he appreciated the care he received from staff, with their special touches and interactions,” Mussetter said. “My only wish is that more of our caregivers could attend. It is a healing and a recentering experience.”
By Robin P. Loveman • Posted July 13, 2021
