Student Blogs

Abbie’s experience of the Schwartz round ‘I raised a concern’

On 21st February 2024 there was an online Schwartz round for students from a variety of University Of Brighton healthcare courses. The session was led by two facilitators and enabled people to all come together in a safe space to listen to the storytellers and then reflect on stories shared and share personal experiences if you wanted to.

“The purpose of Rounds is to explore the challenges and rewards that are intrinsic to providing care, not to solve problems or to focus on the clinical aspects of patient care. Rounds can help staff feel more supported in their jobs, allowing them the time and space to reflect on their roles” – The Point of Care Foundation

There was a brilliant turn out of participants at the round, with around 80 people on the teams meeting which emphasised the success of the promotional work done before the round, and perhaps the volume of people was influenced by the fact it was on teams. Being on teams made it very convenient and accessible for people to be able to attend. Also, some people may feel safer to attend in their home environment as the topics can be sensitive. Using an online approach could take away the personal human-touch, and this is important for Schwartz rounds to express emotions and acknowledge each other’s body language. However, from feedback from peers and personal thoughts, I feel like the round was very effective and having both online and in person rounds throughout the year offers variety.

The round started with a message for people to get comfortable, and then clear instructions from the facilitators of how the session will run, some background information of the Schwartz rounds and a breathing exercise. This created a calm, safe space.

There were two speakers for the theme ‘I raised a concern’. Both stories were very different and emotional, and I felt that it was very brave of both speakers to share their stories. It gave me an insight into how situations can make you feel very vulnerable and isolated, but a reminder that you are not alone, and many people face similar situations due to the nature of a high-pressured healthcare system and complex work environments. Listening to the speakers also was a great reminder to utilise support services within the workplace to raise concerns and not suffer in silence.

After the speakers had shared their stories, the audience was able to share thoughts and feelings in the chat and speak out loud if they liked. Some emotive conversations were had, and I felt like the stories allowed the audience to be vulnerable and reflect on personal experiences.

Overall, I thought the round was very powerful and effective. I have been to a Schwartz round before, but going again reminded me how different topics can trigger different thoughts and feelings. I feel that going forward – going to Schwartz rounds regularly will be beneficial to help me feel supported in my role. The calm, smooth facilitation of the round also makes me feel more persuaded to attend again.  I look forward to going again and reflecting on a variety of topics!

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Creating designs to promote our Schwartz Rounds

Reflective practice is fundamental in healthcare. Most practices follow the analytical ideology of:

“What happened”, “What could have been done differently” or “What was your role in this experience?”

Most reflective practices only focus on what happened and the cognitive thinking leading up to the situation to facilitate improvement for similar future events. The individuals’ feelings are rarely regarded in reflective practice and a meaningful opportunity is missed.

The Schwartz Rounds aim to bring fundamental changes in reflective practice by considering the emotional aspects in a supported and confidential environment over 1-hour group meetings for all health students across multiple disciplines. Creating a feeling of unity, solidarity and understanding between those likeminded.

It is important that this is communicated in the Schwartz Rounds branding, which was brought together by student nurses.

The process started with four pen drawings that represented unity and nature: Leaves, holding hands, clouds and a mandala.

(Calligraphy was never our strong-suit, so grease-proof baking paper was used to test different fonts on each prototype)

The drawing of the leaves felt most representative of the Schwartz Rounds as the connotations exhibit growth, nature and nurture. It is soft, eye-catching and not indecipherable, so this was selected for the next stage of the process.

The drawing was scanned and digitalised into a vector drawing using Adobe Illustrator. Each line was drawn on computer, stroke by stroke until there was a clear outline of the design. This allowed experimentation of different colours, textures, use of negative-space and gradients.

The chosen colour scheme is celeste blue, also known as the colour of the sky and “heavenly” in Italian, conforming to the theme of nature/nurture, with a soft off-white gradient in the negative space. The colour combination is easy to interpret, the design isn’t lost to negative space, and the blue can be associated as sister branding to the University of Brighton. The final stage of designing is to decide which font is most suitable, it must be clear and concise for ease of reading. Different prototypes were created using a variety of bold, simple, sophisticated and fun fonts. Whilst tweaking the spacing and size to suit each design best.

We gathered the opinions of other students and lecturers to help us choose the most suitable logo for Schwartz Rounds and one design was most popular. The below image was selected as the best design and reigned champion of the logos.

 

This journey was enjoyable and stimulating. It presented challenges which tested patience yet were overcome when working in collaboration with others and seeking support. This reminded us that there is always a support system if its needed. Especially after much uncertainty and rigorously re-checking various designs, colour schemes and fonts to be certain it is correct. It has been satisfying to have achieved so much and to make the drawing so much better. We feel optimistic about the future. This was a great learning experience and helped recognise that there is so much to learn along the way and that’s okay. We feel thankful for this experience and want to showcase our creativity.

If this blogpost wasn’t about designing a logo, this statement could be mistaken for how we have all felt at least once working as a student in clinical practice.

Try re-read that statement, but replace the bold text with:

  • “Designs, colour schemes and fonts” to “medicines, priorities and interventions.”
  • “Drawing” now represents our “unwell patient.”
  • “Showcase our creativity” to “join the next Schwartz Rounds”

Thank you for your time and we invite you join us for the next Schwartz Rounds!

Student nurse May H.

May’s experience of the Round: “I took a risk…”

“Reflection is an essential practice in healthcare, but frequently takes an analytical approach on how to improve a situation for similar future events. Often, the feelings of healthcare staff are not regarded, and a meaningful opportunity is missed. Schwartz Rounds aim to bring fundamental changes, giving healthcare professionals a structured outlet to express their emotions and allowing vulnerability. “

I attended Schwartz Rounds, a safe space for healthcare professionals to share thought-provoking stories about their experiences in clinical practice, with a focus on reflective practice by considering the emotional aspects in a supported and confidential environment. I attended alongside storytellers, facilitators, and many other students from various health-science courses in a well-constructed and thought-out meeting. The subject? “I took a risk…”

The meeting begins with a few decompression exercises. An effective method of practicing mindfulness and taking a moment to pause after a long and busy day, preparing participants into a relaxed state of mind.

A facilitator begins with introductions and a thorough background history on the Schwartz Rounds which was fascinating, as this programme was started by a patient who was receiving care from healthcare professionals. Schwartz Rounds is practiced in other countries namely, United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Three story tellers sequentially shared their clinical experiences in line with the topic “I took a risk”.  Reflecting on a time when they were presented with a complicated situation which required them to build the courage and take a chance to make a difficult decision in order to benefit their patient.

Three very different stories, all reaffirming the important message that we, healthcare staff can make a significant difference in other people’s lives. It also reinforced how even the smallest gestures are invaluable. Each story induced laughter and tears, but each were also very intriguing and inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and felt an hour went too fast!

Following this Round, I feel an increased sense of compassion for patients and appreciation for healthcare staff. I am reminded that together, we can bring more humanity into our care and that each patient is not just a bed number – but a unique individual who is the most important thing in somebody else’s life. An eye-opening experience where three brave people put their patients’ best interests at heart and took a risk. Their courage inspired us.

Attending a Round for the first time

Mia’s post – Feb 2023

At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel before attending my first Schwartz Round, as I had never attended one previously. Beforehand, I had been tasked with researching the topic, such as its concept and origin. In my research, I found that the idea was inspired by Kenneth Schwartz, a healthcare lawyer from Boston, whose experiences as a patient when diagnosed with lung cancer in 1994 led him to reflect that what mattered to him most as a patient were the acts of kindness given to him from caregivers – which to him made “the unbearable bearable”. Before his death, he left a legacy in the establishment of the Schwartz Center in Boston, which aims to help foster compassion in healthcare. However, since I had no previous experience which Schwartz Rounds prior to attending one, I was unsure what to expect, but I looked forward to attending the round nonetheless, as I was curious to see what attending the round would entail and how it could possibly impact my learning.

After attending my first round, I found that I enjoyed the event immensely, with one particular reason for this being that I appreciated the calm and relaxed atmosphere maintained in the round, and that there was less of focus on problem-solving and more of a focus on coming together as nurses and listening to the stories – all of which were very inspiring and encouraging. The round allowed me to reflect upon my own experiences on placement; and affirmed that as healthcare professionals we are allowed to experience and be open with our emotions when reflecting on our practice. It was also incredibly interesting to hear the variety of experiences and listen to lecturers in an environment and context outside of lectures. In addition to this, the round felt like a safe and open-minded environment, not only due to the assurance of confidentiality, but also due to the fact that there was no pressure to speak, which as a naturally shy and introverted person, I appreciated immensely.

Although I chose not to speak during this round, and preferred to listen, this fact may encourage me to contribute to the future rounds I will attend.

Overall, the impact that this round has had on me was significant – I now have a better understanding of the role of the nurse, and I was reminded not only of why I chose to pursue nursing, but also of how the small things that can help benefit and improve a patient’s quality of life and care. I look forward to being able to join more rounds in the future.