FAQS – Team Time 1. What is reflective practice? There are different models for reflective practice in healthcare, but what they all have in common is the sharing of thoughts and feelings evoked by experiences at work (often relating to interactions with patients) and the use of such insights to help shape new perspectives. Finlay (2008) defined reflective practice as “learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice”. Usually in group reflection there will be a facilitator who will encourage people to share experiences and who will manage difficult emotions if they arise by validating and normalising them. 2. How is Team Time different from traditional reflective practice models? Whilst most reflective practice approaches focus on the emotional aspects of care, their overall aim is to improve practice and therefore the discussion will move to focus on outcomes of experience (‘what I have learned’) rather than sticking with the experience itself (‘what was it like’). Team Time does not intentionally set out to solve problems – though it may be the case that meetings will end with attendees being better placed to do just that. Healthcare environments have multiple fora for staff to focus on improving outcomes, but we believe that there is additional value in staff having a purely reflective space, shown to lead to positive changes in staff wellbeing and patient care (Goodrich, 2012). 3. What does the practice involve? Team Time supports positive work climates within teams and subsequently improve care delivery. The practice draws on tried and tested methods of group reflective practice to improve team coherence and build staff engagement. Team Time involves a commitment to structured 15 minute sessions each week, led by trained facilitators, in which recent challenging work experiences and their emotional impact on staff are explored. The idea is to provide a non-hierarchical and authentic space for staff to process and share what it is really like to do the jobs that they do. There is an expectation that all staff, other than those taking it in turns to provide skeleton cover, should attend Team Time. In this respect, given its explicit aim to build team cohesion, Team Time differs from Schwartz Rounds where attendance is voluntary. 4. Can Team Time be implemented as an alternative to running Schwartz Rounds? Schwartz Rounds are an initiative targeted at the level of the organisation, offering the opportunity for staff from across the organisation to come together to share stories from a wide range of organisational settings. Rounds provide the chance to establish a culture of staff care and are an important signal from management that time for staff reflection at all levels across the organisation is prioritised. The mix of topics discussed at Rounds, the variety of professional groups and levels of seniority represented provide a dynamic forum for reflecting on ever changing organisational narratives. Rounds require more planning than Team Time and are an opportunity to get a sense of how a complex organisation comes together to achieve a common goal, whilst allowing staff the opportunity to share some of the emotions and challenges arising in meeting organisational goals. Experience has shown, however, that certain groups of staff, particularly those who aren’t in charge of their timetable such as nurses on busy wards, find it particularly difficult to attend Rounds. For these groups, Team Time offers a more flexible forum for team based reflection. Team Time will supplement and support the work already being done at an organisational level. We believe that the ‘gold standard’ should be to offer opportunities for reflective practice both at the broad organisational levels and more routinely as a team. If you aren’t running Schwartz Rounds but are interested in Team Time please do get in touch with us to discuss how we can best support you. 5. What are the facilitator’s responsibilities? The facilitator is responsible for: Helping all members of the team share personal experiences in a public setting; Ensuring the discussion is safe, confidential and given workable boundaries; Opening up a reflective discussion and keeping the focus on emotional aspects of care; Drawing out the meaning and themes underlying the discussion; Being comfortable with silence; Confidently managing challenge and uncertainty that can arise; Maintaining a neutral, curious and compassionate position. 6. Must I do anything before attending training? In order to attend the training, individuals need to provide some basic information about their professional role and their reason for wanting to implement this approach. It’s important for individuals wishing to attend to have approval from their manager in order to ensure support for implementation. This would include obtaining senior management approval of releasing staff across the team for 20 minutes per week in order to attend the meetings.
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