Relational Gestalt approach to building a COVID-19 community of practice in a hospital setting

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been highly disruptive in many work environments, particularly those related to direct provision of healthcare. Significant organisational change has been required at many levels, with attendant risks of both impaired service delivery and psychological impact on staff. Relational organisational Gestalt (ROG) is an approach that emphasises interpersonal connection about shared reality, which can be used in a variety of ways to support organisational change. Methods: We established a community of practice in an acute hospital setting using ROG approaches during a COVID-19 pandemic wave. This group primarily consisted of senior medical staff redeployed to COVID-19 ward duties, who met daily for facilitated sessions centred around inpatient activities. Results: Emerging group practices and outputs are described, including adjustments to group processes in response to situational need. A ROG approach was perceived as both effective in supporting rapid change in practice, and for providing psychological support for staff members. Conclusions: ROG can be a useful and adaptive model for supporting staff and systems through times of change. Further exploration and evaluation of this approach in a variety of healthcare environments and applications will be valuable.