Ethics in practice: Schwartz rounds and veterinary clinical ethics committees

Abstract

Structured approaches to emotional and moral distress, such as Schwartz rounds and clinical ethical committees, are common in human medicine, but less so in veterinary medicine. Although different in their goals, they are both ways to provide organisational structures that support moral resilience. It is possible that, by creating a sense of moral agency and community, these interventions could also help to mitigate moral distress in staff members. Veterinary nurses have an important role to play in developing forums for ethical discussion within practice and the profession. This article discusses the structure and function of both approaches, and looks at what roles veterinary nurses can play in their development and management.

Coordinating support groups for wellbeing

“…Schwartz Rounds (Box 1) have been run within NHS settings since 2009 and more recently have been introduced by one of the authors (AM) into a veterinary practice setting (Martin 2024). They are well‐researched and a study by Maben and others (2018) showed that regular attendees of (human‐centred healthcare) Schwartz Rounds halved their psychological distress over an eight‐month period, and individual and organisational benefits were reported.…”

“…Martin (2024) has demonstrated through a pilot study that there may be benefits to veterinary healthcare teams. Schwartz Rounds are an evidence‐based group reflective space where all staff are invited to come together to reflect on the emotional and social impact of the work they do.…”