Caring for the healthcare professional: A description of the Schwartz Rounds™ implementation

PurposeHospitals must systematically support employees in innovative ways to uphold a culture of care that strengthens the system. At a leading Canadian academic pediatric rehabilitation hospital, over 90 percent of clinicians viewed Schwartz Rounds™ (SR) as a hospital priority, resulting in its formal implementation as a quality improvement initiative. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the hospital implemented SR to support the socio-emotional impact of providing care.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative descriptive study provides a snapshot of the impact of each SR through online surveys at four assessment points (SR1-SR4). A total of 571 responses were collected.FindingsAll four SR addressed needs of staff as 92.9-97.6 percent of attendees reported it had a positive impact, and 96.4-100 percent of attendees reported each SR was relevant. Attendees reported significantly greater communication with co-workers after each SR (p