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What are Schwartz Rounds?
UEA’s Interprofessional Schwartz Rounds offer a safe, confidential, and supportive space for health and social care students to reflect on the emotional side of their training. They create space for emotional connection, encouraging openness, support, and the development of empathy. Rounds last one hour and include free food to help build a sense of community.
How do they work? Each Round features three storytellers who share personal stories on a pre-determined theme, followed by group discussion. Themes, such as "A patient I'll never forget", "Empathy in action" or "Discrimination at work" are grounded in clinical practice and group discussion is carefully led by two trained facilitators. The audience is encouraged to participate and share reflections of their own. The aim is to normalise the emotional impact of clinical work and training, build empathy, encourage open conversations and break down professional hierarchies.
This 2-minute video explains what Schwartz Rounds are:
Schwartz Rounds at UEA
We have been delivering Rounds at UEA since 2023 and have so far welcomed over 350 participants from different health and social care courses. Rounds offer a valuable space to step back from training. They help normalise strong emotions that naturally arise during training, and give permission to acknowledge feelings we might otherwise suppress. By bringing together students (and staff) from different disciplines, Schwartz Rounds also encourage a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other’s roles.
Ultimately, our goal is to allow our students to build lasting habits of emotional reflection that will support well-being throughout their careers. We want students to leave university not just prepared for work in health and social care, but be emotionally resilient and connected to the human side of it. Here is what a Schwartz Round participant said:
"Working in health and social care is not easy. When people can notice and allow their own emotional responses to their work and study without judgement and with kindness, they have a greater ability to care for themselves and others. Schwartz Rounds enable us to do this”
UEA’s Interprofessional Schwartz Rounds are open to students and members of staff from the schools of medicine, clinical psychology and psychological therapies, health sciences, pharmacy, social work and psychology. Check the dates below and join us in one or more Rounds planned for this academic year. We would love to see you!
Upcoming UEA Rounds for 2025-26
In person with coffee and cake from 2-2.30pm. Prompt start at 2.30pm
Project partners
UEA's Schwartz Rounds are licensed by the Point of Care Foundation, an independent charity with the mission to humanise health and social care.
UEA's Rounds are funded by the Centre for Interprofessional Practice (CIPP)
An evaluation of UEA's Schwartz Rounds has been completed with funding from NICHE
Please contact the team is you would like to learn more about UEA's Rounds, share your story or get involved in the work we do med.schwartz.getintouch@uea.ac.uk
With many thanks to Anjali Shenoy and Jing Lin - our psychology student volunteers - for their valuable support in developing the webpages.
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