Engaging Virtually: Assessing the Impact of Schwartz Rounds in the Digital Era

TL;DR

Virtual Schwartz Rounds helped healthcare workers during the pandemic by reducing isolation and improving collaboration through open discussions.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of virtual Schwartz Rounds in supporting healthcare professionals' emotional well-being during the pandemic.

Findings

Virtual Schwartz Rounds increased participants' understanding of colleagues' and patients' perspectives.

Sessions reduced feelings of isolation and improved openness in discussing patient care.

Challenge-focused sessions were linked to higher attendance, though incentives had no significant impact.

Abstract

Burnout and emotional strain among healthcare professionals are prevalent issues, impacting their personal wellbeing and affecting the quality of care they provide to patients. The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare (Boston, Massachusetts, United States) attempted to address some of these challenges by creating Schwartz Rounds®, which is a platform for caregivers to openly discuss the social and emotional aspects of their work. Our study evaluates the role played by virtual Schwartz Rounds in supporting healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between April 2021 and November 2023, 28 virtual Schwartz Rounds sessions were hosted with a total recorded attendance of 2664. A total of 557 participants submitted completed survey responses and these were overwhelmingly positive, including new insights into colleagues' and patients' perspectives, reduced feelings of isolation, and increased openness in discussing patient care. Facilitators received high praise and nearly all attendees expressed their intent to attend future sessions. While the offering of incentives (e.g., Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit and raffle prizes) showed no significant impact on attendance or survey completion, the “challenge-focused” sessions were associated with higher attendance. Overall, our findings support virtual Schwartz Rounds as a way to promote staff well-being and collaboration. Future studies should be conducted at other institutions to assess the generalizability of our findings.