In an age of high-tech clinical and diagnostic equipment, UNMC’s Ruth Margalit, M.D., is taking steps to bring the human dimension back to medicine.
That’s why it made sense for UNMC to be the first in the Midwest to introduce the Schwartz Center Rounds, a unique forum that serves as a reminder of how to practice good, empathetic, compassionate care, offering a unique inter-professional forum for caregivers to understand and support one another.
“We wanted to strengthen and enhance the patient-caregiver and inter-professional communication relationship, as well as bring compassion and caring back to the focus — especially amid all the high-tech diagnostic care,” said Dr. Margalit, assistant professor in UNMC’s Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine. “Sometimes it feels like the individual is lost in the vast advancement of medicine.”
Not anymore.
The Schwartz Center Rounds — which made its debut at UNMC on Feb. 10 — strengthens the patient-caregiver relationship by providing a safe inter-professional forum where caregivers — doctors, nurses, technicians, therapists, clergy and other allied health professionals — discuss emotional and social issues that arise in caring for patients.
More than 150 medical center faculty and staff participated in UNMC’s initial Schwartz Center Rounds including Sheila Ryan, Ph.D., Charlotte Peck Lienemann Professor & Alumni Distinguished Chair and director, UNMC International Nursing Education Programs.
“Practice gaps between our values and a given reality can often lead to professional cynicism, helplessness, anger and burnout, unless it gets some verbalizing and reflection,” Dr. Ryan said. “The Schwartz Center Rounds legitimizes the process of open reflection .The overwhelming positive feedback from the first Schwartz Center Rounds would suggest that this method of learning is badly needed, progressive and inspirational.”
Unlike the clinically oriented Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conferences, participants in the Schwartz Center Rounds discuss the non-medical facts of the case, including their emotional decision-making choices. On Feb. 10, the UNMC team of five caregivers each presented their point of view regarding the care of a patient facing end of life choices. The audience was then asked to participate in the discussion. “People were hearing voices and points of view they’d never heard before,” Dr. Margalit said, “and the discussion was rich when audience and panelists reflected on their practices.
The physician leading the case, Chad Vokoun, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine-general medicine, said the forum served a worthwhile purpose. “It was the first completely multidisciplinary conference we’ve had and goes to things physicians don’t like to talk about – feelings and emotions,” he said. “It’s out of our comfort zone, but the Schwartz Center Rounds are obviously a proven entity at major academic institutions. As we get more comfortable, it will be a nice outlet and release for people. Everybody will get something different out of it.”
Indeed, the Schwartz Center was founded at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1995, shortly before Kenneth Schwartz died of lung cancer. The Rounds — currently held at 85 sites in 21 states — began in 1997. UNMC was the first Midwest location out of more than 80 sites that are holding the Rounds.
The Rounds help improve and increase the understanding between patients and caregivers by:
- exploring the human dimension of health care;
- enhancing communication among caregivers;
- promoting teamwork among caregivers;
- providing support to caregivers; and
- giving caregivers knowledge and insight into the non-clinical aspects of patient care.
UNMC’s next Schwartz Center Rounds will be May 10 at noon in the Eppley Science Hall Amphitheater. The hour-long, nonjudgmental discussion will focus on care during critical situations. Additional Rounds are planned in August and November. UNMC has contracted to do six Rounds in 2007 and again in 2008. Discussion topics vary for each forum.
The introduction of the Schwartz Center Rounds to the UNMC community evolved out of Dr. Margalit’s Professionalism Interest Group, which is comprised of more than 30 medical center faculty and employees working to advance professionalism by appreciating the human experience.
“The Rounds are a safe place to air feelings about the drama of human stories that we encounter daily in our work as providers,” Dr. Margalit said. “It also says those feelings are legitimate in our culture. By connecting our humanness and vulnerability we can be more humane with our patients and our colleagues. ”