UAB Synopsis, Vol. 27, No. 19, May 19, 2008
Open Forum for Caregivers
Caring for the sickest patients in the state is a challenging part of daily life for many of UAB’s health care professionals. In nursing units throughout the hospital, staff may have little time to process the death of one patient before another seriously ill person is admitted.
“Dealing with the ongoing, cumulative grief and intense emotions experienced by patients, their families, and fellow staff takes an emotional toll on caregivers,” says Heart Transplant ICU Advanced Nursing Coordinator Jody White, MSN, RN. “Staff risk fatigue, burnout, and emotional distance from patients and coworkers when there is no outlet to air the issues that arise during difficult cases.”
To give its caregivers a forum to discuss their experiences, UAB is launching a grand rounds series designed to support and advance compassionate health care. The Schwartz Center Rounds, funded by the nonprofit Kenneth B. Schwartz Center, provide a comfortable, confidential environment for staff to share their thoughts and stories about complicated social and emotional issues. Boston attorney Kenneth Schwartz established the center shortly before his 1995 death from lung cancer.
UAB begins the monthly series on June 27 at 11 am in the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium. Lunch will be served. The first lecture will focus on the experiences of staff who cared for a patient whose family undermined his end-of-life wishes.
“The rounds provide a formal setting for people to talk about the emotions – the grief, frustration, and sometimes anger – that linger after a difficult case,” says Family Support Coordinator Wendy Walters, LCSW, OSW-C. “These discussions are not about assigning blame but are designed to give staff a safe, confidential forum to talk about the thoughts they take home with them.”
Providing Compassionate Care
Trauma surgeon Richard L. George, MD, is the physician leader for the rounds. A professional facilitator presides. The rounds are open to all professionals involved in patient care.
“A confidential, protected forum in which one can ask another about their perspective on the unwritten part of medicine we collectively practice engenders a greater appreciation for the roles we each play,” Dr. George says. “Through such interaction, the team as a whole will achieve more consistent and compassionate care without losing the individual attention we each apply to a given situation.”
White and Walters saw the need for such an outlet when they worked to begin a bereavement program for families whose loved one dies at UAB Hospital. “During our first conference to introduce the program, attendees noted that there was no forum for staff to discuss their own feelings,” Walters says.
“This concern also was voiced by Dr. Mike Waldrum [UAB Hospital and UAB Highlands CEO], who supported the bereavement program for families and asked us to extend this kind of outreach to our employees.”
UAB is the first hospital in Alabama to hold Schwartz Center Rounds, which now involve more than 25,000 clinicians around the nation. “The rounds will allow our caregivers to discuss issues that might otherwise go unspoken,” White says, “and also will benefit our patients by allowing staff to put their feelings in perspective, grow with their experiences, and stay focused on the patient in front of them.”
For more information about the rounds or to suggest a topic for future lectures contact Dr. George at rgeorge@uabmc.edu or 205.975.9783; White at jdwhite@uabmc.edu; or Walters at 205.975 .9296 or wwalters@uabmc.edu.