Jocelyn Cornwell of the Point of Care Foundation presents on the value of Schwartz rounds for NHS staff.

1. 1
Staff engagement
“A positive attitude held by the employee towards the
organisation and its values. An engaged employee is
aware of the business context, and works with colleagues
to improve performance within the job for the benefit of
the organisation. The organisation must work to develop
and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way
relationship between employer and employee.”
Robinson et al. 2004. The Drivers of Employee Engagement, Institute
for Employment Studies.

3. 3

4. Distressing situations become the norm.
‘We have to get on with the job’
Staff use protective
strategies to help
deal with the
emotional distress
Such strategies can
inhibit the ability to
empathise and
connect with patients

5. “…necessary balance of kindness and professional
detachment, to perform the most intimate tasks
imaginable. It is easy to forget the appalling nature of
some of the jobs carried out by healthcare staff day in,
day out – the damage, the pain, the mess they
encounter, the sheer stench of diseased human flesh
and its waste products.”
Campling, 2015
To do their jobs healthcare staff need a …

6. Schwartz Rounds
Confidential forum for ALL staff to come together once a month
to reflect on the non-clinical aspects of caring for patients – that
is, the emotional and social experiences associated with their
work.
At each Round 3-4
people present an
experience from their
work.
Story is told from the
staff perspective

7. Next Please! or Putting on
a brave face (fast turnover
of patients and the impact
on care)
Lone working
(the burden of
responsibility)
You see a lot
in this job
A very private
patient (patients
who are hard to
reach)
Making the call
(calling relatives
close to death)
We lose
people too
Schwartz Rounds titles

8. 8
The factors linking staff well-being to
patients’ experience
1. local/work-group climate
2. co-worker support
3. job satisfaction
4. organisational climate
5. perceived organisational
support
6. low emotional exhaustion
7. supervisor support
Seven staff variables (“wellbeing bundles”)
correlate positively with patient-reported
patient experience