In 2003 the MGH Institute became the first school in the country to initiate Difficult Conversations: 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.
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.
Schwartz Center Education Rounds will be held four times in 2016-2017. The theme is overcoming cultural barriers to care. The first Rounds, presented on September 26, 2016, covered "Overcoming Linguistic Barriers to Care." The second Rounds, presented on November 28, 2016, covered "Reconciling Western and Non-Western Medicine." The third Rounds, presented on February 27, 2017, covered "Providing Care to Transgender Patients." The final rounds for the year was held April 10: "Navigating Hierarchy Among Health Professionals."
April 10, 2017: Navigating Hierarchy Among Health Professionals
Reem Mohamad, MS-SLP '17, and Melania Booth, MPAS '18, spoke, facilitated by Jenny Rudolph, PhD, Executive Director of Center for Medical Simulation, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School.
February 27, 2017: Providing Care to Transgender Patients
Antonia Makosky, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, facilitated the discussion.
November 28, 2016: Reconciling Western and Non-Western Medicine
Presenters included Mind Body Spirit Certificate alumnae Mandi Coakley ’16 and Jane Flanagan ’16, Laura Vinci de Vanegas, DPT ’06, and student Rebecca Outland, OTD ’18. Facilitating was OT Professor Susan Fasoli.
September 26, 2016: Overcoming Linguistic Barriers to Care
CJ Kiskanyan, DPT '16, Maria Margardia Fonseca de Almeida Guerra, DPT '19, and Yung-En Perng, DPT '19, spoke, and Instructor Patricia Kelley-Nazzaro, MS, CCC-SLP, facilitated.
See previous years' Schwartz Rounds videos.
