Title : Effective Interventions to Increase Nurses’ Work Related Resiliency
Abstract:
Are you feeling stress from the ever changing and complex demands of nursing? While we can’t eliminate the stress, our research suggests we can equip direct care nurses with tools to build resiliency while on shift. Nursing is stressful with high demands for work load, critical thinking, and the ability to make meaningful connections with patients and team members. Eliminating stress may not be realistic; however, equipping nurses with strategies to build resiliency, the ability to effectively cope with stress, is achievable. This study sought to identify strategies that direct care nurses could utilize during the work shift to increase resiliency. A quasi-experimental pre/post-test interventional study design was utilized with a sample size of 77 direct care medical surgical nurses. Participants received a toolkit of evidence-based strategies for building resiliency and were asked to utilize one or more strategies for 2-10 minutes during the work shift for 10 shifts. Additionally, demographic data and pre/post resiliency scores using Conner-Davidson Scale were collected. Descriptive analyses, chi square, and paired t-test were used to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention strategies. Statistically significant findings with paired t-test pre/posttest resiliency scores with DF=77, t-value=12.141, and p-value=<0.02 indicating a correlation between use of toolkit strategies and increased resiliency. The top 4 strategies were: breathing exercises; lavender inhaler, meditation, and playing Bejeweled. Participant use of interventions increased from first shift being 1-2 minutes and last shift being 7-8 minutes on average. Additionally, 97% of participants reported intent to continue use of strategies beyond the study duration. Work stress in nursing is real and unavoidable; however, the use of evidence-based strategies during shift work can effectively build resiliency. Further research on the impact of engaging nurses in resiliency building efforts on work environment and patient outcomes is needed.
Take Away Notes:
• Recognize the impact of stress and burn out in nursing
• Identify evidence based strategies to build resiliency
• Determine feasibility and amicability of strategies for use during work shift
• Consider implications for practice in varied nursing settings
