In 2003 the MGH Institute became the first school in the country to initiate Kenneth B. Schwartz Center Educational Rounds, a multidisciplinary forum where the next generation of caregivers discuss difficult emotional and social issues that arise in caring for patients. In 2007 as part of a conference on compassionate care at the Institute, a companion book for families experiencing the uncertainty of a serious and prolonged illness: Maintaining Compassionate Care was published.
The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center promotes pioneering programs to educate, train and support caregivers in the art of compassionate care. The Center was created in 1995 by health care attorney Kenneth Schwartz shortly before he died of lung cancer at the age of 40.
The educational "Rounds" format at the Institute provide students, faculty, alumni, and staff with an opportunity to engage in interprofessional dialogue on important issues that advance a compassionate approach to patient care. Participants are invited to engage in self-reflections and reflective dialogue with their peers. These rounds are held four times a year.
September 27, 2021: Balint Groups: A PA Program Approach to Maintaining Empathy During Clinical Rotations
The first Schwartz Rounds of the 2021-2022 academic year was held Noon–12:50 p.m. in Shouse 305, and featured guest panelists Mike Boutin, EdD, assistant dean for faculty and student success in SHRS; Maraline Ferris, PA-C, MPAS ’21; Joshua Schupp-Starr, PA-C, MPAS ’21; Lisa Walker, PA-C, MPAS, program chair, Physician Assistant Studies; and Lisa Waller, PA-C, MMSc, director of clinical education, Physician Assistant Studies.
What is a Balint group?
Balint groups were originally developed to provide regular, facilitated meetings among health care providers or students to process difficult or unresolved feelings in the therapeutic physician-client relationship. Panelists provided an opportunity to observe a brief Balint group, then hear from participants and facilitators about their value and challenges, with an opportunity for questions and discussion about its potential use by other professions and interprofessional teams.
Panelists Suzanne Pennington, MS, CCC-SLP, and CSD alum Kate Boi, MS, CCC-SLP, reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted compassionate long-term care practices.