Examining the experience of healthcare workers who led staff wellness rounding during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective Staff wellness rounding (SWR) is a process in which healthcare leaders have real-time conversations with healthcare workers (HCW) to identify safety and wellness issues. This study examined the experience of multidisciplinary healthcare leaders, who were not trained in psychology, who delivered SWR during the surge phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A mixed methods approach was used. Phase 1 included a survey of HCW who participated in SWR during July-October 2021. Phase 2 included semi-structured interviews of leaders who delivered SWR. Results There were 403 respondents to the survey, with 169 participants (41.9%) being eligible for the study. More than 67% of eligible respondents would recommend SWR to other colleagues, and 77.5% reported that SWR provided an opportunity to escalate issues or concerns about COVID-19. Eleven SWR leaders were interviewed about their experience of leading SWR. Four key themes were identified: SWR (1) offered a defined process for communication between executive leaders and HCW; (2) enabled escalation and actioning of issues to and from executive teams in the organisation; (3) required flexible scheduling to meet varied work schedules of HCW; and (4) required the leaders to have a core set of skills and competencies. Conclusion This study examined the contribution that an SWR intervention can make to support HCW wellbeing during crisis-type events. The model facilitated interactions between executive leaders, managers and frontline staff. It fostered collegiality with peers, managers and leaders, supported recognition and acknowledgment of peers and used available resources effectively to support staff wellness during the surge phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.