Schwartz Rounds uncover the heart of healthcare

By Louise Kinross

As a parent, how do you define compassionate care? Have you ever broken down when describing something troubling about your child and their care?

If so, what reaction from the clinician made you, as a parent, feel cared for?

Earlier this month Holland Bloorview was the first hospital in Canada to partner with Boston-based Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare.

The Schwartz Center is a non-profit organization that’s developed the Schwartz Center Rounds to give hospital employees an opportunity to share the emotions they experience when working with patients and families in the most challenging situations. The goal is to bring the humanity back to healthcare. More than 375 health facilities in the U.S. and about 100 in the U.K. are conducting Schwartz Center Rounds. Caregivers report that the program increases their empathy for patients and families and better prepares them to meet patients’ needs; improves teamwork; and decreases stress and isolation.

Non-identifying patient cases are presented and caregivers share their experiences confidentially.

At Holland Bloorview’s first Schwartz Center Rounds session, staff noted that their training hadn’t prepared them for some of the painful situations they face in supporting parents whose children have experienced life-changing trauma.

“How do you maintain your emotional composure?” asked one clinician. “Do you maintain your emotional composure? And why do I feel that I have to do that?”

Has a professional caregiver demonstrated compassion in a way that you found helpful? Please share your stories.