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Building a Program of Research to Improve Communication and Care for Older Adults
No full textUpon Induction to the Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, Dr. Williams presented the development of her program of research focused on improving communication and care for older adults
Building Bridges: A Sigma Collaborative for Health System-Based Nurse Scientists
No full textThe pivotal role of nurse scientists within health systems and the collaborative efforts to enhance their impact will be explored in this talk. The development of a national, Sigma sponsored, collaborative for health-system based nurse scientists will be introduced
Relationship Between Personal Resilience and Organizational Resilience in Multidisciplinary Team
No full textBackground: This study examined the response of multidisciplinary medical teams in Israel\u27s healthcare system during the Israel-Gaza War that began on October 7, 2023, focusing on the Haifa and Western Galilee district. The research analyzed the relationships between personal and organizational resilience and their impact on medical team functioning across diverse populations.
Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between employees\u27 personal and organizational resilience and their effects on performance during crisis. It sought to identify factors influencing resilience and performance, and to develop an intervention program for adaptation and crisis management.
Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was administered, incorporating scales to assess feelings of danger, personal resilience, organizational resilience, national resilience, and performance levels during wartime. Demographic data were also collected.
Results: The study included 1500 medical team members (56% nurses, 19% health professionals, 18% administrative staff, 7% physicians). Despite 65% reporting moderate to high stress levels and 53% feeling their lives were in danger, 67% viewed themselves as resilient and 86% remained optimistic. Organizational resilience was high, with 89% feeling a sense of belonging and 85% perceiving effective management. Both personal and organizational resilience remained robust during wartime (p \u3c 0.001). Family and organizational support significantly impacted absenteeism (p \u3c 0.002).
Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of family and organizational support in fostering resilience and reducing absenteeism during crises. This research provides insights for ongoing crisis management and strategies to enhance personal and organizational resilience.
Recommendations: Develop additional employee support programs, maintain organizational belonging, and bolster family support systems to improve overall resilience and crisis coping abilities
Addressing Nurse Mental Health and Suicide Prevention: The Role of the H.O.P.E. Certification
No full textNurses\u27 mental health, essential for quality patient care, is severely compromised by systemic issues, resulting in heightened suicide risks. Recent data reveals that nurses face a higher suicide risk than other professions. This was tragically exemplified by the 2023 suicide of Tristin Kate Smith, whose Letter to My Abuser exposed the profound emotional and psychological toll of her work environment and inadequate support, highlighting critical systemic failures.Statistical Context:Between 2017 and 2018, 729 nurses in the U.S. died by suicide, totaling 2,374 nurse suicides from 2007 to 2018 (Davis et al., 2021).40% of nurses report severe psychological distress, with many experiencing burnout and suicidal ideation (Labrague et al., 2022).70% of nurses feel overwhelmed by their workload and work environment, contributing to increased suicide risks (Norton et al., 2023).Proposed Solution: The Helping Our People Elevate (H.O.P.E.) Through Tough Times Certification provides a comprehensive approach with nine evidence-based best practices to address these issues effectively.Impact:Nursing Science: Advances suicide prevention and mental health support knowledge.Patient Care: Improves care quality by reducing nurse distress and increasing job satisfaction.Nursing Practice: Applies evidence-based strategies for a healthier work environment.Education: Enhances curricula and professional development with stress management tools.Administration: Guides the creation of supportive work environments and mental health management.Leadership: Enables leaders to drive systemic changes for nurse mental health.Policy Making: Develops evidence-based policies for mental health and workplace safety.Conclusion: Addressing nurse suicide demands systemic and cultural transformation, not just superficial measures. The H.O.P.E. Certification provides a structured approach to create a supportive work environment, enhancing both nurse well-being and patient care
Finding the Right Fit: How Rotations and Mentorship Shape Successful Nursing Careers
No full textBackground: Nursing students often face challenges in gaining adequate exposure to diverse clinical settings. This can make choosing a first nursing job difficult, leading to potential dissatisfaction and turnover. In a 12-hospital system, a novel initiative was designed to address this issue by providing nursing students with immersive clinical experiences in various departments, facilitating a smoother transition into their professional nursing roles.
Methods: Nurse technicians (nurse techs) are nursing students hired into the system to gain hands-on experience. The pilot program was launched in May 2022 across 9 Collaborative Business Units (CBUs) within a hospital system in Washington state. The program team consists of one director, one NPDA (Nursing Professional Development Associate), and one NPD (Nursing Professional Development Specialist). Nurse techs rotate through different departments every 18 weeks gaining exposure to various specialties and nursing teams. The NPD Specialist facilitates rotations based on interests and career goals and provides ongoing coaching to support professional development and ensure a successful experience.
Results: To date 225 nurse techs have participated in the program. Several participants discovered that initially desired specialties were not a good fit, enabling them to explore alternative areas. A total of 47% of program participants transitioned into the organization\u27s Transition to Practice Program (TTP), a 34% increase compared to previous student nurse transition rates. Notably, the TTP program has realized a 98% 1-year retention rate after the launch of the Nurse Tech program. Preliminary data suggests positive trends in nurse retention and satisfaction among program participants. The program encourages a broad distribution of new nurses across specialties, with choices ranging from emergency departments (19%) to critical care (32%), and medical-surgical (13%), among others.
Limitations: Further research is needed to assess the long-term sustainability of these results and the program\u27s impact on nurse retention, satisfaction, and recruitment.
Conclusion: The Nurse Tech Program empowers nursing students to make informed decisions about their first nursing job by prioritizing environmental fit and peer connection. This proactive approach to career development has the potential to improve nurse retention, job satisfaction, and recruitment efforts, contributing to a more stable and fulfilled nursing workforce
Overcoming Challenges: Creating a Healthy Work Environment
No full textA healthy work environment improves patient outcomes and promotes resiliency by supporting the wellbeing of the nurses. The purpose of our study was to describe labor and delivery nurses’ experiences in caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a descriptive phenomenological design and purposeful sampling to recruit experienced labor and delivery nurses for flexible semi-structured face-to-face audiotaped interviews. Constant comparison was used to analyze data. Ten nurses employed in a labor and delivery unit in two acute care hospitals in southern Texas participated and were interviewed from June through August 2022.
Five distinct themes were identified: Psychological stress during COVID-19; Feelings of satisfaction and gratitude; Resilience and readiness for positive change; Patient centered care; and Interprofessional collaboration. These findings build on our understanding of key determinants contributing to labor and delivery nurses’ ability to adjust to the unprecedented and chaotic working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted several factors that could influence nurses’ resilience and job satisfaction.
These findings also serve as a learning experience to create a healthy environment and promote and improve patient outcomes and well-being of the nurses. Interprofessional collaborative efforts, supportive environment, evidence-based policy changes, and effective leadership can enhance patient centered care and built a constructive workplace for nurses
A Warm Welcome: Creating a Welcoming Environment for Nursing Student Clinicals Using a 3T Approach
No full textBackground: Establishing a welcoming clinical learning environment for nursing students is important as it has been shown to positively impact student learning, sense of security and belonging, recruitment, and development of professional caring behaviors. The first clinical day is often riddled with anxiety for nursing students. Clinical units today have higher acuity patients, staff nurses with fewer years of experience, and rapid adoption of new technologies and processes when compared to the past. These factors necessitate a renewed approach to how nursing students are introduced to clinical care. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to explore the impact of a structured and intentional “Warm Welcome” intervention on student sense of welcome, belonging, and confidence during their first inpatient nursing clinical.
Methods: The Warm Welcome program was developed as a partnership between the Department of Nursing and Volunteer Services at a large, prominent, tertiary hospital in the Midwestern United States. The Warm Welcome was piloted on 8 inpatient acute care units in partnership with three Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs and two Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs. The Warm Welcome utilized a “3T” approach to welcoming and orienting students to the clinical environment with a welcoming emphasis on Tour, Talk, and Touch. Students arriving for their first clinical day received a warm welcome presentation followed by a comprehensive Tour, communication encounter with a patient (Talk), and direct care (Touch) encounter involving the administration of a hand massage.
Results: Prelicensure nursing students engaging in the Warm Welcome intervention provided feedback via an anonymous electronic survey during the second week of their clinical experience. Survey questions were designed to measure student sense of welcome, sense of belonging, confidence with patient communication and delivery of direct hands-on care. Results are pending with an anticipated completion date of January 2025.
Conclusions: The Warm Welcome intervention demonstrates a commitment to developing a welcoming clinical learning environment for nursing students and demonstrates innovation through its partnership with volunteer services and development of the 3T approach to orientation. Survey results will inform continuous quality improvement efforts and expansion efforts related to this work
Leveraging Meaningful Recognition to Create and Sustain Healthy Work Environments
No full textMeaningful recognition, a form of feedback describing how one makes a difference in the life of another, also serves to illustrate the elements of a healthy work environment in action. Focusing on meaningful recognition as a catalyst to shape and drive healthy work environments, attendees will be introduced to evidence-based budget neutral practices they can utilize to positively impact team members, workplace culture, and patient experience
Cognitive Rehearsal Training for Nursing Workplace Incivility: A Quality Improvement Project
No full textAndersson and Pearson (1999) introduced the concept of workplace incivility as “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect” (p. 457). A systematic review of the literature noted nearly two-thirds of healthcare employees have witnessed incivilities perpetuated by nurses and cited a study in which 85% of responding nurses reported experiencing incivilities in the past year (Keller et al., 2020). It has been estimated that 44% of nursing staff have been bullied in the healthcare environment (The Joint Commission, 2021).While often used interchangeably in practice and in the literature, incivility and bullying are not the same. Incivility lacks clear intentionality on the perpetrator’s part while bullying is characterized by repetitive uncivil or aggressive behaviors (Layne et al., 2019). Because of its pervasive and ambiguous nature, this work focuses on the identification and recognition of workplace incivility to prevent bullying and improve nursing work environments. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of cognitive rehearsal training on the perception and experience of uncivil behaviors among nursing staff in the workplace.Participants will include certified nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, and registered nurses from two units at a pediatric rehabilitation hospital. An education module on incivility and cognitive rehearsal training will be provided during the implementation period between August 2024 and October 2024. According to one systematic review, combining multiple elements of educational training has demonstrated improvement in nurses\u27 self-efficacy in responding to workplace incivility in six studies, and the length of the training program intervention did not impact the outcomes (Armstrong, 2018). Based on this data, the training module intervention will be a PechaKucha presentation with accompanying cueing cards. Participants will verbally rehearse and affirm effective responses to incivility and role-play scenarios in guided groups.Pre- and post-implementation data will be collected with the Workplace Incivility/Civility Survey, the Clark Workplace Civility Index, and the Clark Healthy Work Environment Inventory. Data will be analyzed with descriptive statistics
How Research-Based Listening Techniques/Interventions Improve Communication and Work Environment
No full textIn the age of multitasking, it is not always easy to stop what we are doing and truly listen to those around us. Mandel, one of the world’s leading providers of communication skills for professionals, published a paper titled “The cost of not listening on your organization”. Within the workplace, not listening attributes to low employee engagement, decreased productivity, and increased turnover. This served as the impetus for the development of this project.Stephen Covey said, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”. Listening for the purpose of replying is not the same as active listening. Active listening is more important in nursing than in most other professions. Is there a more effective way to help create a healthy work environment then to truly listen to those around us? Whether we are communicating with patients, physicians, peers and /or students, nurses at all levels of practice need to incorporate the skills of active listening into all interactions. The impact of not listening can be detrimental to all, particularly among colleagues and those entrusted to our care.
This interactive presentation will incorporate the latest research findings along with the work of field experts to provide interventions and techniques to assist attendees to incorporate active listening into your communication with others. We will explore the differences between hearing and listening. Attendees will be introduced to the neuroscience behind listening. Characteristics of effective communication will be presented, as well as communication barriers.The information provided in this presentation is applicable to all professional nurses, regardless of their field of practice. The information presented will be new to some and a refresher for others. Regardless of your level of nursing experience, attendees may benefit both personally and professionally from improved communication based on proven listening techniques