Beyond the pandemic: acknowledging the past, embracing the future

Note: some readers may find this reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic upsetting. There is support available. 

In January 2020, we cared for Australia’s first COVID-19 patient. Several years of pandemic response and disruption for our health service and communities followed.

Since then, phrases like ‘post-pandemic’, ‘post-COVID’, and ‘COVID-normal’ have slipped into everyday use, and in some areas of the community, the pandemic is all but forgotten. But as healthcare workers, we understand that COVID-19 is not a thing of the past.

COVID-19 is here, potentially forever, like many other diseases. So, how do we put the pandemic behind us and continue our momentum forward? How do we continue our momentum while acknowledging what we’ve been through and set our health service up for the future?

During our Employee Forum last week, we shared a video that reflected where we were at the end of 2020, the first year of the pandemic. It reminded me of what we went through during that time and evoked a strong emotional response mixed with a strong sense of pride because together, we did extraordinary work.

COVID-19 never finished; there was no formal review or debrief. It may never truly end, but we feel it is important to open a conversation about the experience of our people through COVID-19. This will be a hard conversation for some people and won’t be for everyone. Yet having this discussion is important, particularly as we look to the future and shape our next Enterprise Strategic Plan.

I have been reflecting on my own COVID-19 journey. In my case, one of the things I struggled with the most was the pace of change that we brought to the organisation in response to the COVID threat.

At the time, I vividly remember seeking reassurance from our then Chief Executive, Andrew Stripp, that we were doing the right thing, knowing these changes were necessary, but equally knowing the impact my decisions and our decisions were having on our people.

Talking to people as I move around the organisation, I can see that they are not critical of me or Monash Health. They understand those things needed to occur for the safety of our people and those in our care, but equally, they know it took a personal toll.

So, we are opening this conversation to acknowledge where we have been, celebrate the growth and learning from adversity, and use it to help us move forward collectively.

We want to create a safe space for people to talk about and explore their personal and professional journey through COVID-19 if they choose to. This may be facilitated within teams or, if they prefer, via Schwartz Rounds.

Team led conversations

We are asking managers to hold safe conversations with their teams and have provided a framework to these conversations. Please be mindful and sensitive that some of your team may not wish to contribute, and some may not need to. This activity is optional.

Schwartz Rounds

Schwartz Rounds are a structured multidisciplinary reflective group forums where clinical and non-clinical staff meet to discuss the emotional and social aspects of working in healthcare. Schwartz Rounds provide an opportunity to take ‘time-out’ to reflect on work in a collegial and safe space.

Coordinated by the Patient Experience team, Schwartz Rounds are conducted on a monthly basis and details will be posted on our intranet and events listing.

Teams wanting to conduct Schwartz Rounds for the purpose of sharing stories and experiences of COVID 19 can contact Dr Ari Horton, Clinical Lead for Schwartz Rounds at ari.horton@monashhealth.org.

We completely understand this process will not be for everyone. We also know that it will be challenging for some, and I encourage you to ask for help. You can talk to your manager or learn more about available support here.

Monash Health’s Pandemic Anthology

We will also create an anthology – a type of ‘time capsule’ – containing reflections and any other documents people may wish to include. This has grown from an idea developed by our Nursing and Midwifery leadership, which we will now extend across the entire organisation. Anyone can contribute to this; the anthology will give us another way to reflect and use the experience to move us forward.

If you would like to contribute to our Anthology, you can read more about it here.

Over the coming weeks, I will continue to reflect on my personal journey and look forward to acknowledging and understanding the reflections of others. I hope that in doing so, we can learn from the past and use it to positively and intentionally shape our future.

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.

Martin